The Chanukkah holiday takes place during the heart of winter, usually around the winter solstice. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Avodah Zarah locates the holiday’s origins at the beginning of human history, during the time of Adam and Eve, framing Chanukkah as a celebration of light in the darkness.
(חינוך בית יהודא פרק ה'.)
I heard in the name of our Rabbi, the Rebbe Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing) regarding the teaching of our Sages of blessed memory, that the Holy Blessed One concealed the light (Bereshit Rabbah ch.3 and ch.11) - how could God hide it, if it is such a great light that it filled the entire universe, and a person could see with it from one end of the world to the other?! And he taught (may his memory be a blessing) that God hid it in the Torah. For the Torah is so much greater - thousands of times more vast - than the universe (Eruvin 21a), and one who studies Torah for its own sake is granted access to this hidden light.
The miracle of the light of the Menorah during this month is derived from the hidden light that was concealed within the Torah. And see what is written [further on] in the name of the Rokeach (Rokeach HaGadol 225) that for this reason they instituted [a total of] thirty-six candles, to parallel the thirty-six times that “light” “candle” and “luminaries” are mentioned in the Torah, which hints to the hidden light that shined for the first human being for thirty-six hours but was then hidden away and concealed within the Torah. And in my opinion, this is the reason that the name of this month (in which there is an illumination from the light hidden and concealed within the Torah) is “Kislev” - ki”s le”v - a covering [kisui] for the thirty-six [l”v] appearances of “light”, “candle” and “luminaries” of which an illumination is revealed during this month. And attached to this light is Tevet, “the light was good.”
For this reason these days are called Chanukah, from the word chinuch [preparatory training] and practice for what is to come, for the future redemption. For then, the hidden light will be revealed to us in its fullness, as the Sages taught that “God hid it away for the righteous in the future”, as it says, “the sun will no longer be your light in the day, nor will the glow of the moon be a light for you. But God will be an eternal light for you” (Isaiah 60:19). And this will be at the end of this exile that began with the fourth Kingdom. But even before the end of the third Kingdom, the Kingdom of Greece, the Blessed God shined a small bit of that light for us, even after prophecy had ceased, so that the light can remain with us in this current exile in place of prophecy. For through this light a person can gaze from one end of the universe to the other. And it is therefore called the Chanukah candle, the candle of chinuch [preparatory training] and practice for the eternal light of the future redemption, when that hidden light - about which it was said “let there be light” - will be revealed.
Kabbalists teach that this primordial light of creation was tucked away, and hidden, so that it could be preserved for future use. Our Sages refer to this light known as “Ohr HaGanuz” (Hidden Light), a metaphysical spiritual light.
Ami Silver comments on this, “The ability to “see from one end... to the other” implies a kind of total vision of things, and an ability to grasp reality in its true nature. Kabbalistic and Chassidic teachings draw upon this concept of the “Hidden Light” of Creation - in Hebrew the אור הגנוז (“Ohr Haganuz”) - and unpack its basic message: There is something profound at the root of all that is; something that we cannot see, but that exists nonetheless in a hidden way. And, that something is a primary animating force of our universe - it is as ancient as Creation itself, and will be accessed again at some future time.
Kabbalistic and Chassidic writings identify Chanukah as a time in which this Hidden Light takes center stage. During “the festival of lights”, we are given special access to this Hidden Light, and the candles that we light during this time of year represent a way of making contact with the original light of Creation.”
A Candle in the Womb: MIDRASH TANHUMA, PEKUDEI 3
Midrash Tanhuma is a Midrashic collection, a genre of ancient Jewish literature, likely composed between the 9th and 11th centuries. It consists of teachings, stories, and interpretations on various sections of the Torah, providing insights into moral, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of Jewish tradition. This Midrash is commenting on the Torah portion of Pekudei in the Book of Exodus.
"Before an embryo is formed in the womb ... the Holy One says to the soul: "Enter into that sperm and that egg. ...I have created you for this purpose."...
The Holy One sends the soul off and the angels bring it to the womb. Two angels feed it and care for it.
A candle burns over its head... By the light of the candle they teach the embryo Torah.
After nine months ...the angels say: "... when the time comes to leave, you will not want to go." The child enters the air of the world.
The angel laps it on the upper lip ... and it forgets all its Torah and all it has seen and known."
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Pondering Questions
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This teaching highlights a few important things:
Everything we learn throughout life, we are just rediscovering what we already know. The angels taught it all to us. The candle reminds us of our inherent knowing.
Whether you have a womb or not, this text highlights the primordial wisdom center of our low belly , the belly brain, in yoga known as the hara, In Kabbalah, the point of Zion. With so much confusion and darkness in the world, we can go deep down into the recesses of our body, trusting in our intuition. We can re-discover our inner-light.
Being low in this belly brain was our first connection to our spirit guides- our protective angels. In a way, every idea or insight that we have, comes from the womb, because the angels taught it to us here. Our angels know ALL of our wisdom and ideas for life, because they taught it to us! So returning to our belly brain is a remembering. A great return to our essential selves.
Sometimes we forget, what we know and who we are. If we're confused or stuck, of course, we can always ask the Holy One. We can also ask our angels, our spirit guides. Deep breathing helps us come down to this center.
The flame represents the light of awareness. Revelation, resilience in dark times. Even in the dark place of the womb, this candle illuminates our awareness.
Visualization: a candle in the womb
As if you were taking a seat next to a nourishing candle, or a warm bonfire, relax your body near this light.
Set your palms on your low belly. Send your breath down towards your palms, bringing your awareness lower and lower through your body, into your deep belly breaths. Breathing deep into the low belly. Feeling the rise and fall of your warming inhales and exhales.
If this is where you’d like to spend the rest of your meditation, breathing low and deep in the belly, then please continue here.
If you would like to incorporate the visualization: imagine a glow, a candle, or breaths of light, illuminating this belly-brain. Every breath brings you deeper into trusting your intuition, your place of knowingness.
This place is your first connection with your angels. It was the first light in the physical world that you ever experienced.. Feel the radiant glow , the warm wisdom, emanating from this center.
Spend time in silence, exploring this area. You may want to ask this area in your body for guidance
(If you don’t have a womb, you can visualize the flame or light beneath the belly button (the place that connected you to the womb, and you can focus on your belly-brain (in yoga: hara, in kabbalah: point of zion, or gut, intuitive awareness. )
Closing:
The light that we celebrate during Hanukah is the light of the Ohr HaGanuz- the primordial, hidden, metaphysical, spiritual light that Adam could use to see “from one end of the world to the other”:seeing a connected consciousness, experiencing the invisible that unites us all. This is the light that we are re-discovering, this is the light that shines in the flickering flames of the menorah. The root of this Hebrew month of Tevet is TOV- good. May the flames of the menorah bring out the goodness of our unique light.
Happy Hanukkah everyone and Shabbat Shalom. Now we get to double the light tonight.