By Rabbi Alana Wasserman
Light is everywhere in Judaism. In every synagogue, an eternal light hangs above the ark. On Friday evenings, we light candles to welcome in the Sabbath. On Saturday night, we light a special braided candle to mark the Sabbath’s end. After a loved one has died, we light a candle to honor their memory. On Chanukah, we light a special candelabra, known as a Chanukiah or Chanukah menorah.
Chanukah is known as the Festival of Lights. On this holiday, we celebrate the victory of the Maccabees, the ancient Jewish army, over King Antiochus Epiphanes IV and his forces, securing our religious freedom. On the Hebrew calendar date of the 25th of Kislev, in the year 165 BCE, the Jewish people took back the Holy Temple.
After the Temple was restored to the Jewish people, they wanted to re-dedicate it. When they went to light the menorah, they only found enough oil to light it for one day. However, a miracle happened, and the oil lasted for eight. Hence, the holiday of Chanukah is also known as the Festival of Lights.
Light is a positive symbol in Judaism. In the Torah, light was created before anything else. It was also the first thing God declared to be good.
Light can also be seen as a symbol of hope and freedom. Every year at Chanukah, Jewish people proudly display their menorahs in their windows. We do this because we are supposed to publicize the miracle of Chanukah. By having our menorahs on public display, we are showing our Jewish pride, and expressing our hope for the day when we will no longer have to fight against hatred and antisemitism.
This year, as we light the menorah, we continue to hope for the day when light will extinguish dark, and love will extinguish hate. Be the light , be the miracle. Happy Chanukah!
A public menorah lighting will take place in Southington on Monday evening, December 30th on the Town Green, and Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation’s annual Chanukah celebration will take place on January first. For more information, please visit www.gsjc.org.
Editor’s note: The writer leads Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation in Southington.
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