A word of Torah:
A unique aspect of the mitzvah/commandment of lighting Hanukkah candles is to make known the miracle (pirsum ha-nes). Traditionally, the menorah is placed in the window and lit when people are still passing by (i.e. not when everyone is asleep). Unlike Passover, when we are to remember the story of the Exodus, at Hanukkah we are to remind others of the miracle of long ago. We recreate that miracle by increasing the light each night by adding another candle.
Why is this the essence of this ritual? In the Talmud, Rabbi Jose said: “I was long perplexed by this verse: ‘And you shall grope at noonday as the blind gropes in darkness (Deut. 28:29).’ Now what difference does it make to a blind person whether it is dark or light? Once I was walking on a pitch-black night when I saw a blind person walking, torch in hand. I asked: ‘Why do you carry the torch?’ The blind person replied: ‘As long as the torch is in my hand, people can see me and aid me’” (Megillah 24b).
We light the menorah at Hanukkah, the darkest time of the year, to remind us to reach out to those who feel surrounded by darkness so that they do not feel abandoned and alone. After all, the plague of darkness in Egypt was that “people could not see one another” (Ex. 10:23). That is real darkness. It is also the real reason why the blind person is carrying the torch. After all, being blind, she knows how to negotiate the darkness. She is carrying the torch to bring the light of awareness to all those who think they can see, but are actually stumbling in the dark.
What is that light? The midrash asks what was the nature of light in the world before the creation of the sun and moon on the fourth day. After all, God separated the light from the darkness on the first day. The midrash answers that there was a special light created on that first day that gave such clarity that you could see from one end of the world to the other. After the creation of the sun, God hid that light away for the end of days. Some Hasidic masters teach that on Hanukkah we can catch glimpses of this light. I want to suggest that there is always the potential to achieve a moment of illumination. Hagar does--when she lifts her eyes and sees the well that was invisible a minute ago but was always right there. The Maccabees saw the light when they lit a cruse that only contained oil enough for one day but that would last eight days.
By lighting the menorah, we ignite the flame in our souls, the sparks that cannot be extinguished, that will burn not for eight days but for eternity. We place the menorah in our windows to be visible to those passing by, just as our inner light must shine against the darkness of evil and indifference and must kindle the spirits of our fellow humans. The menorah reminds us of the greatest miracle--that no matter how dark life may be, there remains a source of light deep inside us. The light in our souls reflects and refracts the light from the One who is all brightness.
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