These Lights are Holy
Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. Chanukah is a time for gratitude and our family is so grateful for the return of our daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law who returned to Israel last week after nearly 8 months in N.Y. This year I am particularly grateful for my health and the health of those around me. Nothing can be taken for granted. It's been a bit of a whirl-wind since Ruchama and Mendel arrived home. Yet, I couldn't begin this amazing holiday without a blog. So, I am putting up last year's Chanukah blog. Enjoy!
---------------
One of the wonder-full things about the Jewish calendar is the aura that accompanies each holiday.
Chanukah, in particular, has a special aura all its own. There is something special about the Chanukah lights – something mysterious and joyful, serious and at the same time playful. And most importantly, there is something extremely holy – as we say, these Lights are Holy הנרות הללו קודש הם.
Over the years I’ve heard a lot of deep and esoteric things about Chanukah and its lights. People offer prayers by the lights; we recite Tehillim (Psalms) by the lights… yet, my favorite activity by the Chanukah lights is simply to stare at them. It is mesmerizing. These Lights are Holy הנרות הללו קודש הם.
Last year I attended a class given by, Rav Yaakov Enoshi. He spent over an hour teaching about simply sitting and watching the lights with this thought: These Lights are Holy הנרות הללו קודש הם.
I would like to discuss my take on the simplicity of Chanukah. I understand that at the time of Creation, Hashem (the Creator) took (so to speak) a good portion of His infinite Light and hid it away to be taken out at the time of the coming of the Moshiach (Messiah). In the meantime, at different junctures in history, the Creator ‘shot’ some of that Light of Redemption to the Jewish Nation. This ‘shining of Infinite Light’ occurred approximately 3,340 years ago, on the first Passover, a little less than two months later, at the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, roughly 2,400 years ago on the original Purim, and 2,150 years ago at the time of the Maccabees.
Since those times, every year on the specified Jewish dates of these holidays, this Infinite Light is available to us. Year after year, the pipe lines are opened to shower the Jewish People with an abundance of Hashem’s infinite light. We are told that on Passover night, when we sit at the seder and eat the matzah we are bringing down the Light. On Shavuot, we stay up all night studying Torah, our source of hidden Light. On Purim, we receive the Light when we are happy, drinking and eating a festive meal and sharing with others. All of these holidays involve our ‘doing’ something in order to bring the light down.
Chanukah is different. On Chanukah all we have to do is look at the lights. I’ve been told that looking at the Chanukah lights brings healing - especially to the eyes. What kind of healing is this? It is a healing of the soul. It is a healing of how we view ourselves and the rest of the world. When we look at the holy Chanukah Lights, we are looking at holiness manifest in the flickering flames. And what a story they tell! They tell me about the holiness in me. They tell me about the holiness in everyone in this world. They tell me about the holiness of creation and they pull me into their story.
It is the simplest story on earth. It’s called אין עוד מלבדו -There is none other than Him. In other words, there is only ONE. And you and I are in that Oneness. When I take time looking at the flames, they pull me in. I enter into them and I have such a hard time leaving them. I want to close my eyes and disappear into that Oneness, yet if I do, I am closing my eyes to the glorious light.
When you sit a while like that, simply looking and thinking ‘these lights are holy’ there is nothing else in the world that counts.
Whether you sit focusing on this thought for 5 minutes or 30, you come away with an all-encompassing sense of peace. That is the Light.
It kind of reminds me of the times I have been blessed to see an actual tzadik (righteous person). If you’ve ever seen one, you’ll agree with me that they glow. They shine out to the world. I can’t take my eyes off of them. It is magnetizing. I believe that by staring at holiness with consciousness, we absorb some of that holiness. And just as the candles and the righteous shine their light to the world, we too should be prepared to shine our light as well. There is no sense in taking the infinite light in if we don’t share it.
How do we share the light? We share it by being at peace with our Creator, with ourselves and with the world. We share it by spreading love. When we spread that love to others we and the recipients of that love enter the Oneness. And may it come to pass soon in our time, that all of mankind share peace and love in the Oneness.
Tonight is the first night of Chanukah 5779. It is our first opportunity this year to spend quality time with the Chanukah lights. If you are accustomed to using an electric menorah, maybe this year you'll consider lighting real candles. You can find how to's of lighting the Chanukah menorah here.
Chanukah lights are a true gift from Hashem. Take them in and THEY will surely take you in.
Happy Chanukah!
MashaFaygel