11 Nov CANDLE POWER

On a recent Friday afternoon, my friend
Chayale received a surprise gift package – a
bottle of wine and a cake. She wasn’t
expecting Shabbos guests. It wasn’t her
birthday or anniversary. Her curiosity was
piqued. Who could it be from?
Chayale opened the card.
“To my neighbor. I live in the building next
door. My window faces yours. Every Friday
evening, as the sun sets, I see your Shabbos
candles burning brightly. I sit by my window
and gaze at your light. It means so much to
me. I want to get to know you, and learn about
Shabbos. – Svetlana”
A heartfelt message. The power of Shabbos
candles. Candles that burn so bright, they can
kindle a soul. Spiritual flames, touching the
Yiddishe neshama.
Svetlana included her number, and Chayale
reached out and called her. They made up to
meet on a future date. But the story doesn’t
end there.
That was in Miami. The following week,
Chayale flew to New York. With errands to
run, and an available taxi nowhere in sight,

Chayale took the subway. The train was
beyond packed. As more people piled in, one
really felt the crush. Chayale turned to the
woman standing next to her, and apologized in
advance, just in case she bumped into her
when the train comes to a stop.
The two began conversing and discovered that
they both flew into New York from Miami.
They started playing geography, exchanging
addresses. Chayale’s newfound friend on the
train was none other than the woman watching
the Shabbos lights from her window –
Svetlana.
What are the chances of that happening? Of
the millions of people she could have possibly
bumped into on a crowded train, Chayale and
Svetlana ended up standing next to each other.
Everything is bashert. If HaShem wants
people to cross paths, it happens – at times, in
the most unexpected ways.
When Chayale shared the story with me, it
took her back in time to when she spent her
first Shabbos, and experienced her first candle
lighting. Chayale was invited to a home in
Boro Park. After the men and boys left to shul,
the women – her hostess together with her
married daughters – went to the dining room
to light candles. Just watching mother and
daughters lighting together, standing over the

candles, each silently engrossed in
their own thoughts, their own tefillos,
touched Chayale in a way she never
felt before. All of a sudden, she was
overwhelmed with a sense of longing
for something she never had, and
started to cry.
Tears from the neshama. A neshama
that yearns for Shabbos.
The power of Shabbos candles.
Candles that speak to the soul.
This Shabbos, we read Parshas
Chayei Sara, the Life of Sara. Yet, the
parsha speaks of Sara’s death. The
Torah is imparting to us an important
message. The life of Sara Imeinu, our
mother Sara, lives on in each and
every one of us. We are Sara’s
daughters. We carry her spiritual
DNA. We can emulate Sara’s life and
follow in her ways.
Rashi cites a Midrash that Sara’s tent was
known for three constant miracles:
Ner daluk –A light that stayed lit from one
Shabbos to the next. Symbolic of the kedusha,
the holiness that was intrinsically part of
Sara’s being.
Bracha m’tzuya ba’eesa, a blessing would be
found in the dough. Sara’s challa remained
fresh from week to week, and was sufficient
for all her guests. This alludes to the way
Sara looked at everything in her life. It was
all “fresh”. Her Torah, her mitzvos, never
became stale, but was something she always
looked forward to. Bread is also symbolic of
the material in life. Sara was sameach
b’chelka, happy with what she had. It was
all good. It was never “out with the old, in
with the new”. Her “things” never grew
stale.
Anan koshur al ha’ohel, a Divine cloud that
was “tied” to her tent, always hovering
above it, signifying the kedusha within.
Three phenomena that also reflect the
miracles that took place in the Mishkan, and
later in the Beis HaMikdash. A ner tamid, a
fire that was always burning, a reminder of
HaShem’s constant presence. The lechem
hapanim, the twelve special breads,
symbolic of HaShem’s blessing of
sustenance. And just as the Divine cloud
hovered over Sara’s tent, so too, was there a
cloud over the Mishkan, and the Shechina,
the Divine presence, rested in the Beis
Hamikdash.
Today, we no longer have a Beis HaMikdash,
but we can strive to make our home a
mikdash me’at, a sanctuary in miniature. A
place of kedusha. We can follow in Sara’s
footsteps, and bring the light of Shabbos
into our home.
When we light our Shabbos candles, cherish
the moment. We are all busy, with lots to do
– especially during the short winter Fridays.

But be sure to make time, not just to recite the
bracha, but to linger before the lights, to really
daven, to turn to HaShem with words of
gratitude for the blessings in our life. Make it
a “Thank You HaShem” moment. And also,
use those special moments to ask for the needs
in your life. To daven for those who need
refuos, shidduchim, parnassa, children. To
daven for Am Yisroel and Eretz Yisroel.
In our times, pain and uncertainty continue to
shadow the world. Though the hostages have
returned, Eretz Yisroel is still in danger,
surrounded by enemies who continue to
proclaim “From the River to the Sea”. And it
isn’t just in Eretz Yisroel. The chant of
“Globalize the Intifada” is spreading. A chant
inferring that October 7 was okay. To globalize
it. And here at home, the recent elections have
instilled fear and uncertainty in many. But
when we light candles and recite Kiddush, we
are proclaiming that HaShem created the
world. HaShem is in control. On Shabbos we
put evrything on hold, the ultimate show of
emuna. A belief that is comforting, especially
during these difficult and unpredictable times.
Emuna doesn’t mean that everything will turn
out exactly the way we want it, but it does
mean that we know HaShem has a plan, and
ultimately it works out. A calming thought.
Licht bentschen, candle lighting, is HaShem’s
gift to us. In Bereishis, we are told of the time
before Creation. A time when the world was
sohu, vo’vohu, a place of emptiness and
disorder. A world of choshech, darkness. But
HaShem proclaimed, “Yehi ohr, Let there be
light”. Light to fill the world. Each week,
come Shabbos, HaShem gives us the
opportunity to be a partner in creation, to
bring light into our home, into the world. With
our Shabbos candles, we can rise above the
darkness and bring true ohr, spiritual light to
the world. Like Chayale, a neighbor across the
street might notice our Shabbos candles, and
we could have the merit of lighting the spark
of Yiddishkeit that is embedded in every Jew.
The power of candles. The gift of Shabbos.