Bringing out the Light

This weekend two world religions will celebrate their holidays at exactly the same time. While Hanukkah is considered a minor festival in the Jewish calendar, and the confluence of its first night with Christmas Eve is unusual at best, the convergence of these two celebrations provides an opportunity included in the mission of both faiths that might be overlooked.

Each of these religions seeks healing and wholeness, not only on the individual level, but as a world. Each speaks of loving the other, foundational to creating a caring, unified world. In Judaism this dates back 1800 years to the statement of the great Hillel who said that all of Judaism can be summed up in the words: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” (Lev.19:18). This statement evolved in Christianity to what we know as The Golden Rule: treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. A simple Google search reveals that this tenet, referred to as the law of reciprocity, is common to almost every ancient culture and every world religion. It even has its place in the secular world.

Hillel added one line to his summary: “Now come and learn,” meaning that while every people on this great Earth might see the value of treating others with grace and kindness – so much so that it forms a backbone of their code of behavior – its practice takes a lifetime to master. If we look around us, we may say it takes longer than that, and wonder why so many individuals who claim a commitment to a particular faith seem to have forgotten this one guiding principal.

At this time of year I am always drawn to the light. It is a dark time; short days, with more grey than sun. Yet driving through the streets there is more light than at any other time. Trees, homes and yards are decorated with lights of all colors and styles as a way of sharing the message of Christ to love one another. While I always think about the use of electricity and care for our planet, the lights are warming and beautiful. They serve to connect us. On Hanukkah, we light a lamp adding one candle for each of eight nights. We are drawn to the beauty and the radiance of them as well.

The Zohar, the quintessential book of Kabbalah, says that the light of Hanukkah comes from the hidden light, a light that exists within each of us. It tells us that when we focus on this light, our inner light catches flame and begins to glow. We are to look into the flames as they burn down, and each night, as we add a candle, we add more fuel to our inner light.

I think this is a teaching that can guide us no matter what our faith – to see the lights at this time of year and have them connect us with our own inner light, our light of giving, our light of sharing, our light of loving, our light of connecting that goes beyond faith or walk in the world to our essence of loving each other as we love ourselves .

At this time of divisiveness and disharmony, as we see a world struck by anger, violence and fear, let us connect to the light within, igniting it to burn ever more strongly. And let us hold out the flame of our individual candle to light the lights of others, bringing the true meaning of this holiday season to fruition.

With blessings for a holy season of joy, outreach, unity, and light.

Rabbi Robin Damsky