PEACE AND LIGHT
The middle candle on the hanukkiah is the ‘helper candle,’ bringing light to all the others. We must be that candle.
From Pittsburgh to Poway, this year has seen much darkness. Only a few days ago the darkness deepened into devastation. The anti-Semitic attack on a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, N.J., left three civilians and one police officer dead.
“Leaders must lead and call out hate wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head – regardless of politics,” Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. “This is about principle.”
We must join leaders in forcefully naming hate in all its forms and commit to ending it. We cannot be held hostage by the darkness. We must welcome and be a part of the light.
The first candle for Hanukkah will be lit at sundown on Dec. 22. That one candle will give off a bit of brightness to homes. Brighter illumination will come every night for the ensuing seven nights. Many Jewish homes will display their hanukkiah for the world to see like a gift of light to their neighbors.
The Hebrew word for Hanukkah means dedication. It’s an eight-day holiday celebrating and commemorating the dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Maccabees, Israeli warriors, retook it from the Greeks in the
second century.
Rabbi Irving Greenberg best captures both the holiday and sentiment of the present moment, saying, “The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle.”
We have a chance to reclaim respect, goodwill and civility by fully dedicating ourselves to eight actions to change our world for good:
Listen: Understand what’s being communicated without thinking of how to immediately respond and without arguing to be right.
Empathize: Listen with your heart and find something within your life experience to help you connect with others who you otherwise would not understand.
Educate: Take time to learn about the issue from different viewpoints and without posting on social media beyond reading the news headline. Read it first.
Share: Tell stories with people you meet to learn about someone who is unlike yourself. Choose to go outside your protective bubble.
Partner: Seek higher ground and respect to attain common ground with people. Go outside your comfort zone to lend a hand of support.
Organize: Get young people in your life to vote. Learn about issues or candidates starting at the bottom of the ballot. Start local.
Advocate: March with your mouth on issues and follow through with your entire spirit to defend others by being a voice for vulnerable communities.
Give: Everyone has something to give to support organizations that speak to your issues and passion. Elevate the needs of the community with your talent, time and treasure.
What of the middle candle on the hanukkiah? It’s called the shamash candle and it’s used to light the other eight candles each night. I believe it can represent each of us, as we can be the “helper candle” by bringing light to each action.
Not only during Hanukkah — all year long.
Three years ago, a Chandler family’s giant yard menorah was vandalized and twisted into a swastika. Not deterred by the incident, the family rebuilt it, even bigger, and held a re-dedication ceremony with hundreds of people on site to witness the lights of the menorah again brightening their neighborhood.
I said then, and it sadly it still applies today, “We have to be strong and overcome acts and hateful words together.”
It all starts with the first candle and first action to light up the world.