December 2, 2018
Jesse Greist

 

When the sun sets, darkness overtakes everything

Fear, doubt, and worry grow bigger

Seeming larger in our imagination than in real life

We have a small tin of lamp oil, enough for one night

Should we light it or save it?

Our fear answers for us, and we strike a match

The tiny flame dances and flickers

We call it Shammash.  It promises to keep fear at bay

Joy returns to our hearts and we allow ourselves to sing softly

Still, we worry about tomorrow.

The next night, we dare to call on Shammash again, and again

She whispers quietly to us through her flame

“Don’t worry.  You are not alone.”  The night is held back and hope

Sends doubt and worry to the shadows once more.

Though it seems the source of our hope is always about to run out

Somehow we draw on it to keep our lamps lit for 8 days

For 8 years.  For 800 years.  For as long as we need to stay in light.

Chanukah is every time we light a candle.

Every time we flip a switch.  Every time we sing our way through fear and doubt

And send fear, doubt and worry to the corners of our world with a single drop of hope

Stretched thin, yet stretched eternal.