Chanukah: A Beacon of Inspiration
We are currently celebrating the festival of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. The main feature of this festival is the kindling of the eight branched Menorah and hence its name.
Some sixty years ago, in the Nazi Extermination Camps, there were, amongst the many prisoners some who risked their very lives to be able light a Chanukah Menorah. These inmates would take tremendous risks in order to attain a spoon of oil, a sliver of clothing for wicks and a piece of potato for the oil in order to kindle a Menorah – even in the appalling conditions within the concentration camps. The message of Chanukah meant so much to them that they were willing to pay the ultimate price with their lives in order to be able to experience, if only briefly, an inspiring moment of Chanukah even with all the suffering and darkness around them.
The unique message of Chanukah, of light over darkness, of good over evil, and overcoming the odds has always been a cornerstone of our culture and tradition. While the story of Chanukah may be about the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks more than 2,200 years ago in the land of Israel, it may be paralleled with many other episodes in our history in which nations and cultures sought to oppress or destroy us and yet failed to succeed in their goals.
Chanukah is a time when we pay tribute to the courage and bravery of good people, and it symbolizes hope in the face of adversity, light dispelling much darkness, and the ultimate power of good over evil. Wherever I have celebrated Chanukah, be it in Hyde Park, London; Jerusalem, Israel; Havana, Cuba; or Sudbury, MA, the lights of Chanukah have always told the same story and have always inspired the same sense of hope, courage and warmth in the crowds who celebrate this holiday.
In Jewish tradition we light the Menorah at sundown on each night of Chanukah, just as darkness is beginning to settle in. The kindling of the Menorah at sundown reminds us of the tremendous hope and potential of mankind, and it shows us that the way to eliminate darkness – to rid the world of selfishness, negativity, hatred and greed – is to kindle lights of knowledge, generosity, faith and love.
In addition, we traditionally place the Menorah in a window of our home or in a public place so that the light shines out into the street. This public display represents our responsibility and obligation to bring the light of morality, freedom, and spirituality into the lives of others and into the world around us besides bringing it into our own homes and lives.
But the flames of the Chanukah Menorah tell us something more - about each and every individual. A burning flame represents the soul and aspirations of a person, the Godliness that is inherent in each one of us: it is always trying to reach higher. The individual flame of each person has a particular contribution to make to society and has its own unique way of illuminating the world. Chanukah celebrates the power of the soul, reminding us that although there are 6 billion people in the world each one of us counts and can bring our own special and distinctive contribution to the world.
It is for this reason that so much emphasis is given to this holiday.
May we all take to heart the message of the Menorah and bring light, goodness and love into the world around us.
With best wishes for a Happy Chanukah and Happy Holiday Season