The Hanukkah candles remind us of the Miracle, but they are not
to do any other “work.” We do not read
by them, or cook by them, or clean by them.
Instead, we delight in them and enjoy them.
Rabbi Richard Levy, one of my mentors, recommended that we
spend the 20 minutes or so of a candle’s life staring into it. Observe the range of colors. See how it flickers in the slightest
draft. How extraordinary that a flame is
both there and not there! How the smoke twists! There is so much to see in a single candle. When we allow ourselves to stop doing, we cannot help but be drawn to
the flame.
The Jewish holidays are outward manifestations of our inner
lives. By this I mean that the actions
we take and the symbols we contemplate are prompts to feel and think about our
lives. They are opportunities to enhance
our spiritual, emotional, and ethical existences as human beings and as Jews. The candles of Hanukkah give us the chance to
pause and consider what’s holy in our lives.
This week, a member of our community was struck by a truck
and killed. It can all be over in an
instant – no more celebration, no more laughter, no more candles. It can all go dark.
So this year – no, tonight:
light the Hanukkiah and stare into the candles. Do not clean.
Do not check messages. Just
look. Soak the glow into your soul,
relishing each drop of melted wax. As we
look closely, we cannot help but ponder our own lives. We contemplate the passion, the beauty, the
fragility and the brevity of life. And
we treasure it, for it is so quickly gone.
Life itself is the miracle.
Out, out, brief candle.
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