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The First Night of Hanukkah
It’s time to light the menorah within!
Welcome to the first night of Hanukkah, ladies and gentlemen, which, as most of you know, is also referred to as the “Festival of Lights” — a beautiful chance to acknowledge and celebrate the all-pervading reality that physicists tell us moves at the speed of 186,000 miles per second.
Light!
The back story for tonight’s celebration of Hanukkah is a classic in the Jewish tradition.
2,200 years ago, a tyrant king from Damascus ruled over the Jews and forced them to worship Greek gods. Jewish rebels fought for their freedom for three years and, victorious, reclaimed the holy temple in Jerusalem. Now to rededicate the temple, they needed oil to light the menorah, but they could only find enough to keep the flames burning for one night. And here’s the miracle: The oil lasted for eight days. And in that time, they were able to make more oil and keep the eternal flame lit.
As they say in the old country, “whoo hoo!”
But no matter how inspiring the Hanukkah story is, unless we apply the essence of it to our lives nothing of real significance will happen for us. We may feel comfort upon hearing the story again. We may feel hopeful. We may feel glad. But until and unless we deeply imbibe and apply the story’s true…
