“The Light of God’s Presence”

As the days grow shorter and shorter, we prepare to celebrate Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. One of the great joys in Jewish households across the country and around the world is the simple act of lighting the candles on the menorah. Whether the family gathers around candles to eat potato latkes or share gifts, or whether we place the menorah in our windows to “publicize the miracle,” we are bathed in the light of the holiday.

While the December holiday season raises concerns for some in the Jewish community about the confusion and mixed messages of the Christmas/Chanukah dilemma, I’ve always been more taken with the common theme of light. We light our menorahs. The Christian community decorates trees with light, and the African-American community kindle the candles of Kwaanza. In this time of darkness, we all fill our homes with light.

As children, many of us remember being afraid of the dark. The simple glow of a nightlight made us feel safe. There is a wonderful story that surrounds our Havdalah service, the time when we light a candle to signify the end of Shabbat on Saturday evening. The story says that, as the sun set on the very first Shabbat, Adam and Eve became afraid. But God showed them how to make fire and by its light they were reassured; in its warmth they found comfort. Fear is dispelled by the simpe act of kindling light.

To dispel darkness and chaos, God’s first reaction was light. From the act of creation, all others followed. When we kindle light in a time of darkness, we transform fear into warmth, chaos into comfort. The glow of these kindled lights is the focal point around which we gather our family and friends. When we see the reflection of these lights in their eyes, the chaos of our everyday world gives way to a peaceful glow of love and warmth.

The candles can also be a metaphor for a different kind of light. We have all encountered someone who is “positively glowing.” When we tell someone that they look “radiant,” we become witnesses to the precious light of the soul. I have often felt reassured and conforted in the presence of someone who exudes warmth and light and love.

The mystics tell us that the flame of a candle is like the soul. The flame is made up of three parts. The part that is attached to the wick - the body - glows faintly. It is surrounded by a brighter light, the part of the flame that gives illumination and warmth. This part of the flame reaches outward toward the aura, which is perceived but not seen. The glow of human soul is that brighter light which reaches from our earthly existence toward the aura of the Divine Presence. And in that light we also find warmth and comfort.

In a time of loss, we light a candle. The flame reminds us of the eternal light of the soul. In the glow of that flame we seek to dispel emptiness and fear. We look into the flame to find comfort in the warmth of the soul of our loved one. The book of Proverbs tells us that “the human soul is the lamp of God.” The soul of those around us and the souls of those who are no longer physically with us nourish us with their light and the light of God’s presence.

We will kindle lights in our homes. We will watch our friends and neighbors kindle light. We will look into the eyes and the hearts of those closest to us and see light. May we all be warmed and comforted in this season by the light around us, and may we experience in their glow the blessing of the light of God’s presence.

B’shalom,
Andrew Bernard
Cantor