Rabbi Danny Burkeman: Chanukah reminds us that the hold darkness has is weak

At this darkest time of the year, it is unsurprising to learn that many religious traditions introduced festivals of light to illuminate the night and give us something to celebrate.

For Jews, our festival of Chanukah begins this evening and lasts for — in the words of Adam Sandler — “eight crazy nights.” The truth is that it’s actually a rather tame holiday (we have crazier ones).

The major ways in which the festival is celebrated involve kindling progressively more lights on a Chanukah Menorah, spinning a dreidel (basically a wooden top) and eating fried food, primarily in the form of latkes (potato pancakes) and doughnuts.

At the heart of the holiday are two stories that resonate anew against the backdrop of events in our world today.

The first is the story of the Maccabees, a ragtag bunch of rebels who fought against the mighty Assyrian army to regain their freedom and independence. This was an unexpected victory, to say the least, and the Maccabees are remembered for heroism and courage, fighting for what they believed in.

This is where the second story begins, because when the Maccabees returned to the temple in Jerusalem there was only enough oil to kindle the ceremonial light for a single night. But miraculously, it lasted for eight nights, sufficient time for more to be produced. Kindling that light was an act of faith and hope in the midst of darkness and despair.

The story has renewed power this year because our world feels like an awfully dark place at the moment. Abroad we might think about the ongoing war in Ukraine or the way in which Iran is executing protestors. And at home we have seen the voices of hate growing louder, celebrities spouting antisemitic diatribes, and the deepening of divisions along the lines of religion, race, gender and sexuality.

The dark can feel almost overpowering.

But as Chanukah and other festivals of light remind us, the hold that the darkness has is incredibly weak. When you illuminate even a single candle, the darkness is extinguished immediately. The original candle can then serve as a spark to illuminate thousands of others, spreading the light exponentially.

One of the most powerful symbols of the festival is the way that we add a candle to our Chanukah Menorah on each night of the festival. On the first night there is a Shamash (server) candle and a single other candle illuminating the darkness. But by the final night there are nine candles shedding a combined light.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” The festival of Chanukah began with a single light of hope, the flame kept flickering long after it should have been extinguished, and it in turn inspired the lighting of countless other flames.

Similarly, we cannot fix all of the world’s wrongs in a single moment, but we can be among those who bring light into the darkness; reaching out to those in need, supporting those who are attacked, and standing up to oppose the voices of hate and oppression.

Traditionally, Jews are supposed to light the Chanukah Menorah in a public place (usually the window of their home), so that the light is not kept private, but shared with the wider community. In the face of rising levels of antisemitism, there are conversations about how public we should be with our Jewish observance in general and with our celebration of the festival of Chanukah in particular. But perhaps this year, there is a need for public displays of Judaism, as statements repudiating those who seek to spread hate.

This year it feels important that we find those opportunities to celebrate Judaism, not just to defend it. And with that in mind, a whole community celebration and the public lighting of a Chanukah Menorah feel like tremendously important statements.

First, we at Temple Shir Tikva invited Building Blocks Workshop to our learning program and worked together to build a 12-foot-high menorah out of Legos! We collaborated, celebrated and cheered as the structure rose high in our social hall.

And tonight, we will light a Chanukah Menorah on Boston Post Road for the first time in our history. It will provide an opportunity for our community to come together in celebration of the festival. It will be a wonderful symbol on that road as people make their way past mosque, synagogue and churches during their drive — a statement of diversity and acceptance in our MetroWest community. And it will be a way to add our festive lights to the communal celebrations that take place at this time of the year, our way of helping to expel the darkness.

For eight nights, we will remember the miracle of a light that burned more than 2,000 years ago. We will celebrate the heroism of those who fought to defend our freedoms both in the past and today. And we will join together with all of those celebrating festivals of light, in faith that together we will illuminate the night and drive out the darkness.

Rabbi Danny Burkeman is the senior rabbi at Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Wayland rabbi Danny Burkeman says Chanukah inspires spread of light