* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
On Chanukah, there is an ancient custom, once the candles are lit, to stop and pause for a little while. To put the cell phone aside, to linger by the flames, to gaze at them, to pray, to sing, to study Torah, to talk with your family. Not to do any work. To get excited by the flickering light from the candles more than by the artificial light from digital screens.
Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz, among the earliest luminaries of the Hasidic movement, once said: “On Chanukah, at the time of the lighting of the candles, a hidden light descends and every person is obligated to sit by their candles, once they are lit, for a full half hour.”
It’s not just about the candles and the match. When we light the candles, a great light descends into our home. Light that is a remembrance of the Holy Temple, an illumination from the days of the Chashmonaim. We therefore need to receive this light in an appropriate manner. To listen to what the flames are telling us. To pray for a new light of redemption in our world.
You are invited to prepare to do this tonight after lighting the fourth Chanukah candle.
