17 Dec LISTEN TO THE LIGHTS

On recent trips to Eretz Yisroel, I noticed a
change in the simple greeting of boker tov, good
morning. Instead of receiving a boker tov in
return, I would hear boker ohr, morning of light.
Morning of light. What a beautiful way to start
the day. To wish one another a day full of light,
rays of sunshine and hope.
As we are currently experiencing the painful
darkness of war, boker ohr takes on a special
meaning. The wish of a new day that will bring
ohr, light to our nation.
There are hints of Chanukah in the Torah. The
very first mention of darkness is in Bereishis,
where it is written, “v’choshech al pnei t’hom,
and darkness on the surface of the deep.”
(Bereishis 1:2) The Midrash teaches that this
pasuk alludes to the era of the ancient Greek
Empire “which darkened the eyes of the Jews
with their decrees”.
The letters of the word choshech, ches – shin
– chof, can be rearranged to spell shochach,
shin – chof – ches, meaning to forget. That is
exactly what the Greeks wanted. As we say in

Al Hanissim, “l’hashkicham Torasecha, To
make them forget Your Torah”. To bring the
Jewish people to a place where they would
forget who they are, and what they are. A place
where they would lose their identity as Am
Yisroel, and their connection to Torah and
mitzvos.
But, within shochach, there is a small, yet
powerful word – “koach” – kof – ches, meaning
strength. HaShem, with His infinite kindness,
gives each of us the bracha of koach, the
capacity to withstand the challenges and
overcome the darkness.
In last week’s parsha, Yaakov battled the sar
shel Eisav, the malach of Eisav, “ad alos
hashachar, until the break of dawn”. (Bereishis
32:25) The night is long, at times even
frightening, and seemingly endless. Yaakov’s
nighttime battle with the malach left him injured
and limping, yet, he walked away with the
crown of Yisroel, a prince of HaShem.
Yaakov’s story is our story. We are Bnei Yisroel,
children of Yaakov. It is a story that repeats
itself time and time again. The story of our
nation fighting the Greeks, the Romans, the
Spanish Inquisitors, and the pogroms of Czarist
Russia. It is the story of the Holocaust and the

story of October 7. The battle
continues, “ad alos
hashachar, until the morning
light”. The break of dawn,
the coming of Moshiach.
While Am Yisroel
experienced darkness during
the Greek rule, they merited
to witness the miraculous
light of the menorah.
Chanukah takes place during
the darkest time of the year.
The days are the shortest, the
nights are the longest. It was
not just a time of physical
darkness, but a spiritual
darkness as well.
The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef
Yitzchok Schneerson, would tell his chassidim,
“listen carefully to what the candles are saying.”
Listen to the lights, they are speaking to us.
When we gaze upon them, we can hear their
holy messages. Messages that penetrate our
neshama.
After lighting, we sing “Haneiros Hallalu,
These lights, kodesh heim, are holy”. We are
not permitted to derive benefit from them. Only
to look upon them. Linger and look upon the
lights, taking in their messages.
Message one. Daven, daven, daven. Chanukah
is a most propitious time to daven. To reach
out and connect to HaShem with heart and
soul. Chanukah is a time of miracles – ask for
a miracle. Nothing is too big or too trivial for
HaShem.
We need tefillos now more than ever. It’s been
over a year since the terrible atrocities of
October 7. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of
“war fatigue” But, hostages are still in
captivity, lives continue to be lost. So many
are wounded, so many lives disrupted, so
many families displaced. This Chanukah, let’s
intensify our tefillos for acheinu kol Beis
Yisroel, our brothers and sisters, the entire
House of Israel. HaShem should have
compassion upon them, and extricate them
from pain to comfort, mei’afeila l’orah, from
darkness to light. More davening, more
Tehillim, more tzedaka. As the lights of the
menorah ascend, so too should our tefillos
soar to the Heavenly throne.
Message two. Cherish the children. Each
month of the calendar has a mazel, a sign. The
mazel of Kislev, the month in which Chanukah
falls, is a bow and arrow. The closer and
tighter one pulls the bow, the further the arrow
travels. The Kotzker Rebbe taught that the
same is with our children. The closer we hold
them, the greater the warmth and love we
extend, the further they will go in life. The
Kotzker cites a pasuk in Tehillim, “Like

arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the
children of youth. (Tehillim 127:4)
As we gaze upon the lights, let’s take a lesson
in raising our children. To reach out with “aish
– a fire”. Aish, spelled aleph, shin. Aleph for
ahava, love; shin for simcha, joy. To reach out
and teach our children with lights of warmth,
love and joy.
Message three. Life is about spiritual growth.
Each night of Chanukah, we kindle an additional
flame. A message to grow spiritually. To do
more chesed, show more caring, engage in more
learning. It’s easy to become complacent, to be
satisfied with the status quo. Instead, let’s take
a cue from Chanukah, and strive to constantly
add spiritual lights to our life.
Message four. Be a shamash, a helper. Find
ways to use your inner lights, the talents you
have been blessed with and the capabilities you
have developed, to help others accomplish, to
facilitate their growth and fulfill their mission
in life.
Chanukah is quickly approaching. We wish
each other “ah lichtiger Chanukah”, a
Chanukah full of light. After the choshech of
Bereishis, HaShem said “vayehi ohr, let there
be light”. In Israel, people wish one another
boker ohr, morning of light. Yaakov fought “ad
alos hashachar, until the morning light”.
The Navi Yeshiyahu tells us that HaShem
created Am Yisroel to be an ohr lagoyim, a light
onto the nations. To open the eyes of those who
are deprived of light, to redeem those who sit
in the dungeon of darkness. We are a nation
that lives with emuna and bitachon, the hope
and faith in a better tomorrow. A tomorrow
filled with light. As we gaze upon the menorah,
let’s daven for the ultimate light, the light of
Moshiach, quickly in our day.