Sefat Emet, Bereshit/Hanukkah (5661/1901)
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“... the 36 candles of Hanukkah [without the 8 extra of the shammash] are parallel to the thirty-six hours that the original light of Creation shone in the world before being hidden away. If this is so, then the light of Hanukkah is itself of that hidden light.... The Sages taught that this light shone from one end of the world to the other, so no hiding or concealment can stand before this light. [Now] the [created] world ... hides.. and conceals this light. Still, that original light shone in all those concealed places, where it was hidden away for the tzaddikim(righteous).. |
Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger 1847-1905)
“Especially at this season, when lights were miraculously lit for Israel even though they did not have enough oil, there remains light even now to help us, with the aid of these Hanukkah candles, to find that hidden light within.” The Hanukkah candles are a spiritual symbol; the light of the commandments by which we search out our inner selves. We seek out the hidden divine light within ourselves; the mitzvot are light-seeking candles, instruments given to us to aid us in that search.
This text talks speaks of two different kinds of light- the diffuse sunlight that shines brightly on the world in the clear day, and the subtle, hidden, primordial light that “shone from one end of the world to the other,” that shines in concealed places, and that is hidden by nature.
Does the idea of different kinds of light resonate with you? What associations come up for you when you consider the phrase “hidden light”? What might this hidden light help you search out or perceive?
Think of the natural world, the human world, this country, your own heart. When and how is light hidden? When and how is it revealed?
“To Know the Dark" To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.” ― Wendell Berry, Terrapin: Poems by Wendell Berry
What might be revealed or experienced in the darkness (without a light)?