A Hanukkah Call To Greatness
By Rabbi Patrick Beaulier
If you know anything about third grade science class, you know that the luminaries in the sky are what create … well … the light in the sky.
There’s an odd quirk in the Genesis story. Light is the first thing that God makes. And yet, several days later, God makes the sun, moon and stars.
So, how can there be light before there’s anything to make that light?
Light is its own independent force.
So is darkness.
At least, that’s how ancient people thought about it.
Our ancestors believed that light and darkness were opposing forces that waxed and waned throughout the day. Like blankets that covered the earth, daylight would come out of its hibernation and sweep over the land, with darkness receding. Darkness, in due time, would come out of its slumber and cast away the daytime, putting us into the night.
So, what about the sun, moon and stars in this story?
Sure, they give off light, but they are lesser forces.
This Great Light and Great Darkness are like powers of their own.
Let’s Talk About Greatness
We live in a time where we think that in order to make any kind of difference, we need to be “great.”
How many TikTok followers do you have?
How well known are you among the people on “your side” of the hot social/political issue?
How much do you terrify the people on the opposite side of this perspective? And how many clicks did that get you today?
We have made conversation a data analysis, not a relationship. We’ve made it a competition about who is the Great Light, the Great Power, the Great Force.
We see celebrities, influencers, media, the power of brands and we are told that to make the world better, we need to have a commanding voice amongst the competing distractions of the world. It’s not good enough to be the sun, moon or stars. You can’t just be a little luminary.
But that’s not true.
Because there are only the little luminaries.
And those little lights are us.
And that’s perfectly fine.
So now, Helpers.
The tallest light on the hanukkiah is called a shamash.
It means helper.
And that’s important.
Throughout Hanukkah, you will light the shamash first, then light all the other candles. By the final night of Hanukkah, your menorah will shine this gorgeous, numinous glow.
What made this night and all the nights before it possible?
The helper.
And the helper was there for the tiniest light, barely pushing back any darkness.
That helper, that shamash, is you.
Like the luminaries in the sky, or the tallest candle on the hanukiah, the light that dispels the darkness around us is small.
It’s personal.
It’s you.
And that little light, that light of your soul, is in my mind the Greatest Light indeed.
Happy Hanukkah!
חַג חֲנוּכָּה שַׂמֵחַ