Parashat Miketz: Genesis 41:1-44:17

Middah for the Month of Tevet: Delight

“Ki-yitron ha-or min ha hoshekh – the most preferred light comes from the darkness.” (Ecclesiastes / Kohelet 2:13)…as translated by my teacher, Rabbi Moshe Aharon Krassen: “the light from darkness is a superior light”.

Not only are we approaching the Winter Solstice, but this week is the new moon of Tevet – the time of the darkest nights of the year. Into this darkness we light our Hanukkah candles. This light is more than symbolic, we truly draw hope and optimism and a new way of seeing into our souls and from our souls into the world.

We are enjoined to place our illuminated Hanukkah menorahs in a window so that the light shines out into the street. In a posthumously published book of teachings by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, we are reminded that what is most special about the light of these candles is that they light up the exterior with light from the inside. On Hanukkah, those interior soul-places, which are often dark and poorly-illuminated, become candles which radiate light and good will toward the outside.

Let’s send blessing for candles that are set aflame on the darkest nights of the year, and for those places inside ourselves that yearn to become sources of healing, warmth and light.

May we all experience the wonder of children as we gaze at our candles this week – and with this intention begin to contemplate the soul-trait of delight.

Rabbi SaraLeya

28 Kislev 5770

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Parashat VaYeishev (Genesis 37:1- 40:23) – Shabbat for blessing the Month of Tevet

Middah for the Month of Kislev: Gratitude

Hanukkah starts Friday night!!!

“We bless you, Source of Life, who made miracles in those days, at this season – bazman hazeh. Thank you for giving us life to enable us to reach this moment – lazman hazeh.”

These are the words we recite after lighting our Hanukkah candles. The rabbis have long taught that hidden in these words are the understanding that the miracle of light did not just happen once a long time ago, but is renewed each and every year during this Solstice season.

As we kindle the candles of the hanukkiah, our eyes are bathed in light from another dimension, from the timeless place where miracles happen. This is healing for our sense of sight so that we can truly see beyond the trivial and the ordinary into the essential. Just as the olive oil for the menorah in the temple represented the distillation of the essence of the olives, so the light of the Hanukkah candles brings the essence of our souls to awareness.

Our spiritual sight is renewed as we gaze into the candlelight. We see our life as it is fundamentally a – miraculous, mysterious, sometimes challenging, but often joyful – gift from the Divine. So, this Hanukkah, let our intention be to look at each other and at our universe with renewed wonder – to see the soul and not the garment.

I hope to see you Saturday night at our community Hanukkah party (if not in body, please be with us in spirit).

With blessing for light and clear vision,

Rabbi SaraLeya

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