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The
Interplay of Light and Dark
by
Rabbi David Zaslow
December, 2003
What’s
the darkest night of the year? You might guess the winter
solstice on December 21st! But, that’s the shortest night
of the year, not the darkest. Each year, on the seventh night
of Hanukkah we mark the new moon of Tevet. Hanukkah begins
on the 25th of Kislev (which is on December 19 this year)
near the end of the lunar month. This year the darkest night
of the year falls on the night of December 25, the evening
of the new moon.
During
the days surrounding Hanukkah we contemplate the interplay
between light and darkness. The autumn has passed, and we
are in the middle of the winter. In an exquisite paradox our
rabbis teach us that although it is light that permits us
to see, it is in the darkness that we can see the farthest.
During daylight we only see what is near, but as soon as night
comes we can see the stars which are light years away from
us. This paradox has a very profound application during Hanukkah
since it is through our past mistakes (the darkness within
our past) that we have learned to see the greatest distances.
We
don’t need candles in the daylight and we don’t
need Hanukkah in July. Our tradition teaches us that the darkest
time of the year is not the season to make confessions and
resolutions for a new year. That work is done during the Autumn
equinox (September 21st), not on the solstice. The shortest
and darkest days of the year are given to us by the Creator
so that we can go deeply inside ourselves and be thankful
for all the transformations that have already occurred. During
Hanukkah we celebrate how our past negative traits (the darkness)
are being transformed (the candle) into something that will
turn out for the good (the full light of the upcoming Spring).
The month of Kislev is a time to integrate the shadow that
is within each of us. What happens when we light a candle
in the darkness during Hanukkah? We make shadows! We have
enough light to see what is near us and we preserve enough
of the darkness so that we can see the lights in the far distance.
For
Hanukkah to have real meaning it has to be more than eating
latkes, giving gifts, or even telling the marvelous stories
of the miracle of the oil and the world’s first battle
for religious freedom. For Hanukkah to have meaning it must
be personal. The word for “the oil” in Hebrew is
“ha-shemen.” It contains the same letters as the
word for soul which is “neshamah.” Oil has something
to do with soul. The word for “wick” in Hebrew is
“petillah” which contains the same Hebrew letters
as the word for “prayer” which is “t’fillah.
Prayer enters the soul the same way a wick enters the oil.
Prayer in Judaism is not an end in itself, anymore than the
wick is the goal of the candle.
Prayer
is the means to an end, and the end is a connection to the
Divine. In the same way, the wick gets the oil to the flame
and permits the flame to be continuous and steady. Only when
we light the wick does it draw up the oil in a continuous
flame. Only when we ignite our prayers with passion does the
light burn continuously, seemingly on it’s own. And as
anyone who loves to pray knows, a good davven lasts for eight
days. That’s the real miracle of Hanukkah available to
everyone of us.
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