Making Every Day Brighter

The eye only takes in and records.   There are no emotions in it, just facts such as dimension, color and events.  The eye is impassive, non-judgmental. As it records data there is no joy.  No triumphantalism.  No squeals of delight or jaw-dropping moments.  Therefore, the awesome does not exist in any empirical manner.  Sensations come from a deeper place. 

As Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote “there are no sublime facts; there are only sublime acts.”  That is, we endow time, places and events with sanctity.  If we do not see it, it is not there.  We may stand at the foothills of the Himalayas and be wondering about lunch.  We might find ourselves in a bear-hug embrace and be wishing we had more time to make phone calls.  We could, in short, be in the Garden of Eden and never realize the verdant beauty pulsating all around.  As Psalms says, “they have eyes but do not see.”

What makes the Jew unique is his proclivity to draw out the intrinsic holiness in all things.  That is why we have so many blessings to recite; to awaken our sense of wonder.  The purpose of our many prayers and blessings is to make our eyes aware of the great gifts of the universe.  From food to clothing to bodily functions all things can be holy.  Moments can be sated with meaning.  Love can grow stronger and life can be more meaningful and fulfilling when we perceive the depth and potential that is inherent in them.

People have trouble finding God.  The truth is God is in all places and events.  We need to be able to see.

People have difficulty with love.  We inhabit a world of love.  But for some the universe is a war to be waged and won.

Make your day brighter.  Utter a prayer of thanks-  a bracha.  Life can be better.

During Hannukka, for example there are tiny flames dispelling gloom- light incrementally growing with each passing night until the Hannukkiah is bathed in the play of flickering shadows and light- thick air from crusty fried latkes- water droplets traveling a jagged path down the window- dreidels- gelt- and warmth.

Solo Act or Partnership?

One of the oddest questions posed by the Talmud asks, “What is Hanukkah?” 

Why does it ask such a question?  Is it not self-evident what Hanukkah means?  Doesn’t every six-year old know the reason for Hanukkah?

The Talmud provides an answer to its own question by describing the miracle of oil.  While kosher oil, unearthed by the Maccabees, was enough to last one day it burned for eight days.  Some say it burned brighter with each passing hour, yet another miracle.

Yet the initial question remains, why does the Talmud not assume we know why Hanukkah is observed?

Here are four possibilities:

1.     One of the underlying messages of Hanukah is that righteousness can triumph over numerics.  Despite the overwhelming odds against them posed by the militant Greek power, the Maccabees through sheer determination won a long and hard battle.  This message certainly resonates with modern Israel, the beleaguered Jewish state founded in ashes, forged in fire, and continually assaulted on all sides for all the years of its brief life.

2.     Hanukkah is meant as a symbol of hope, when, in the darkest hours of the long winter nights, we kindle flames a s a bulwark against the encroaching darkness around, we learn a powerful message about keeping hope alive even when everything else in life would seem to indicate the despair.

3.     Hanukkah is a metaphor for the internal and ongoing struggle each human engages in day-to-day.  It is the battle for goodness that is continually waged against the internal dark forces (yotzrot) urging us to embrace our worst impulses.  Hanukkah comes with the message that we can triumph over our most implacable foe, the internal enemy.

4.     Perhaps Hanukkah is nothing more than a childhood dream of safety; good warm tasty food, laughter and love?  If that is its message it too is worthy.

Maybe the Talmud poses the question about Hanukkah’s meaning because it has so many overlays, so many variant meanings.  Why then did they opt for the simple miracle of oil outlasting its normal life?  To show that God is the apex of all life.  It is too easy to dismiss God from Hanukkah, or Purim, or any other human event.  In fact if you read the tale of Hanukkah it is not unusual to miss the God part altogether.  The war was won though perseverance and strategy by the wily Maccabees.  Just like the rest of our lives.  Who wrested the big sale from the client?  Me or God?  Who won the court case?  Who raised our children?  Who is the breadwinner? 

It is simple to exclude God from the realities of daily living.  Maybe this is the real genius of the rabbis: it is not so much about writing our story but recognizing the glorious nature of even the tiniest event.