First glorious night and first day of Chanukah. Standing out on the sandy wet shores of The Great Lake Michigan with the first candle lighted and held high in hand and held above my head like a lantern, a light of brightness to shine in the darkness of the black seas, waving the flame back and forth in the night, a torch, as if guiding ships to a safe landing.
It was just me and G-d, just the two of us last night, and today it was the more the merrier. As a minyan at a worship service to worship the Almighty G-d, we lighted the one candle again in the daytime, we and the Rabbi chanted the Chanukah blessing and the Shehekianu, as the light spitted from small birthday-sized candles and our births as Jews were celebrated as Chanukah is a joyous occasion: births, weddings, singing and dancing!
Sugar cookies passed around decorated with sweet crystals of blue, red, and yellow to bite and enjoy with a sip of kosher grape juice. Schmoozing about our roots, it is a mitzvah to talk to a Rabbi. His long but neatly-trimmed white beard was not the beard of a Santa Claus, yet he came to us bearing great gifts: a dreidel, a box of cookies, chocolate gelt, and a smile with white teeth so wide it could have harbored a complete army of navy ships. But he was just one man. But his smile lighted up my inner spark of holy light, as did his candles, and my heart became warm and gracious, as I thanked G-d for all my clothes and all my kosher foods, devouring kosher corned beef, cabbage and small white potatoes after the Rabbi left. As always, I chanted the Blessings Before And After Eating, even more thankful because the Rabbi came to see us.
The second candle will be lighted again tonight, not to guide in the ships at the harbor, but to warm the hearts of all who will see it upon a sandy shore, the billions of fish in the ocean, and just me and G-d, the two of us, becoming one. Becoming Echad. Then the one becoming ten, a mighty minyan at a Jewish worship service, a battalion of warriors like the Maccabees against the Assyrian Greeks, a small army of Jews, who fought evil to keep the peace, and peace it was and shall be, as we see the candles flicker chasing away the gloominess of darkness. Shalom is peace, Chanukah is peace. It is all about peace. Light is peace.
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