Chag urim sameach! Tonight: Candle #1
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This week, Rabbi Ron Stern shares some Hanukkah meditations to get you in the spirit of the festival of lights.
As we reflect on the meaning of light, and our power to bring it into the world, we invite you to increase the light this Hanukkah with our Center for Tikkun Olam Hanukkah Give Back Guide.
There’s a special prayer for Hanukkah recited during its eight days. It includes these words: “You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the unclean into the hands of the pure, the evil into the hands of the righteous, and the arrogant into the hands of those who engage in Your Torah.”
It begs an intriguing question: “Once they are delivered into our hands, what do we do with those who are now under our control?” It is one thing to declare victory, it is another to deal with its aftermath. This has been the challenge facing the victorious throughout human history, and quite frankly, we haven’t always done so well. History is replete with accounts of revenge, persecution, colonization, and subjugation. Often those who become the mighty forget what it was to be powerless.
It is a special gift to be able to wield power with justice, virtue, and compassion. The truth about the Maccabees (from what little we know) is that after they assumed power their dynasty was not remembered as one of particular virtue. They did not usher in a golden age of righteousness. Let history be a lesson: when fortune gives us wealth and power a true sign of blessing is reflected in the way we assert our virtues in all that we do.
— Rabbi Ron Stern