Tonight we light the sixth candle of Hanukkah.
Since my very first trip to Israel, I have been — and continue to be — awed by the geography of the place. It never ceases to amaze me that we can, in 2023, walk in the place named in the Tanakh, or in our sacred stories. Cruse of oil aside, it was a miracle to buy a sufganiah, a jelly donut, in modern day Modi’in, the site of the Hanukkah story, just a few weeks ago.
In some years, the beginning of Hanukkah in Israel has been marked by a torchlight parade from Modi’in into Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of the Maccabees. I can imagine the marchers singing the words of the modern Israeli Hannukah song: Banu choshech l’garesh — we have come to banish the darkness; b’yadeinu or va-esh: in our hands, we have light and flame.
I do not know if that march happened this year, but I thought of those torchers as I watched the families of the hostages, along with thousands of others, walking from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, demanding of their government to bring their loved ones home. The images were powerful, and they too were reminiscent of the words of that same Hanukkah song. The next line says: Kol echad hu or katan, v’kulanu or eitan: Each of us is a small light, but together, our light is strong.
In reflecting on my time in Israel, and in thinking about this Hanukkah — I keep coming back to that verse. I have no doubt that Hanukkah in Israel this year is subdued, that the light feels diminished and smaller. And also, the overwhelming sense I took back with me from my trip was one of unity, of peoplehood and shared love and destiny. There is no one in Israel — maybe no one amongst the Jewish people — whose candle feels strong, or full, right now. And, there is no one in Israel — and maybe no one amongst the Jewish people — who does not understand, viscerally and deeply — what it means to share our light with one another, this year of all years.
We may not be marching from Modi’in, but each of us holds light and flame in our hands and in our hearts. May they shine brightly.
— Rabbi Sari Laufer
