This year, the first day of Chanukah coincides with American Thanksgiving, the day many of us here in the United States get together to celebrate and express gratitude for our friends, family, and blessings. The last time these two dates coincided was in 1888, and the next will not be for another 79,043 years!
When we light the candles for Chanukah, we need to understand that we are not performing a religious ritual meant only for one group of people. The candles are spiritual tools meant for all of humanity. Their purpose is to help us remove chaos from this world and reach the time when we will come to know that we are all part of one soul.
The Light of the candles is that same Light that exists in everybody’s spirit. As long we have this Light within us, we need to try to fulfill the purpose for which it came—to recognize this very same light that exists in others. Granted, it is much easier to see others’ frailties and all the things that are wrong with them, but if we can recognize the simplicity of love, the simplicity of kindness, and the simplicity of compassion in other people, then we have everything.
At Chanukah, we hear about the purity of the single flask of oil that lasted for eight days. But what is purity? Is purity something like a new-born baby? Maybe, but that’s not what we are talking about here. You can be a full-grown person, and yet your thoughts can be pure thoughts of “What can I do? How can I help?” You can be a full-grown person and choose to look at another with eyes of kindness instead of eyes of judgment. You can be a full-grown person and choose to back away from the feelings that we all have at one time or another, like: “I’ve had enough. I don’t want to be here. Get this person away from me.”
From a kabbalistic perspective, the purity of the oil represents the pureness of how we ourselves, through our consciousness, can create a positive energy, a binding of the Light inside ourselves.
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is about appreciation and Chanukah is about miracles, two concepts that actually go together quite well. After all, how many of us appreciate that every day that we wake up is a miracle? We don’t have to wake up; there are a lot of people that don’t. We don’t see things that way, though. Indeed, in our mind, it is normal, not a miracle, for us to wake up. But I remember how a great person once said to me, “I wish that everyone in the world would get sick for one day in their life.” Why? Because that is the way a person comes to appreciate health.
We, as human beings, live in a space called the "Desire to Receive.” We live in a place that says, “As long as I am getting something, then everything is OK.” So all too often, we take the commonplace things—like waking up—for granted.
This week, we have a chance to see things in a different light, so let’s all take this opportunity to appreciate the miracles, large and small, in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season.
Love
Karen
