The Hanukkah Menorah
Over the years, because of Night-Light Radio I have read many hundreds of books and from all of them, without exception, have found fragments of wisdom that I have gathered and added to my own bag of magic so to speak. I always come away with pieces of insight that give me a richer perspective on life as a whole. Recently I read Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s boon, Judaism Without Tribalism and found many insights into Judaism of which I had not been aware.
One such insight had to do with the Hanukkah Menorah. Like many understanding of the candles and the lights were meant to remember the miracle of a single night’s worth of oil burning for the entire eight days needed to rededicate the temple in Jerusalem after the second century BCE military victory of the Maccabees over the Greco-Syrians. The central candle is called the Attendant candle and is used to light a single candle each night for eight nights.
The Rabbi speaks of how the miracle of Hanukkah is a celebration of daring and chutzpah: acting rightly without any surety that the desired end can be achieved. Thus, the inner spiritual work of Hanukkah is to examine your life in light of the question each day poses: Where are you daring to do the impossible in service to being a blessing?
Below are the questions he asks on each night. I would suggest that all of us could use this practice during a time of celebration, what ever your chosen practice is.
First night: We kindle this light in honor of Hope. May we never abandon ourselves to despair.
Second night: We kindle this light in honor of Action. If we want justice, we must do justly.
Third night: We kindle this light in honor of Nature. May we nnever forget our role as her caregiver (Genesis 2:5)
Fourth night: We kindle this light in honor of unity. May we come to see each and every person, animal, and thing as expressions of the One.
Fifth night: We kindle this light in honor of knowledge. May we cultivate intuition and reason in service to truth.
Sixth night: We kindle this light in honor of kindness. May we be a source of comfort and compassion to all we meet.
Seventh night: We kindle this light in honor of awareness, being present to the One who is all.
Eighth night: We kindle this light in honor of Heroines and heros, ordinary people daring to do extraordinary things.
A wonderful way to remind us of our purpose here on the planet and a great road map to guide us on the journey this life represents.