Divrei Tikvah

This year at TBT we will be celebrating Chanukah on the very first night, December 14th in the Gregorian calendar. Of course, in the Jewish calendar, Chanukah begins on the same day every year—the 25th of Kislev. The nights are dark at this time of year and the days very short, a time when we, along with nature, hibernate and begin to gestate all that can be nurtured in the winter months to be reborn in the spring. Indeed, the very last night of Chanukah falls on the winter solstice this year, the darkest night. And yet every dark night bears good news—the light that we could hardly notice in the fullness of summer can shine so tenderly at the beginning of winter.

On the 14th we will gather, sing songs, play dreidel, eat latkes, and connect with our community—but we will also recall that time long ago in Jerusalem when the Holy Temple was desecrated and the Jews, with the Maccabees as their leaders, sought to restore it and rededicate it in part by lighting the Temple’s menorah. Legend, of course, teaches us of the miracle: that a small amount of oil that should have burned for only one night burned for eight, and that the few overcame the many. That light allowed the Jews to cleanse the Temple.

Here we are telling their story again to remind ourselves of the impossible made possible—that we can rededicate our lives to higher principles, that we can find ways to seek out the light when we find ourselves in the caverns of winter. Moreover, we get to do the cleanup together (and the cooking, and the eating).

So this season, whether you light your chanukiah with TBT, at home, or elsewhere, allow that light to shine out to others and to yourselves. Chag Sameach.