by Dennis Augustine
— the final lighting carries deep meaning of resilience, hope, and bringing light into the world
Today is the 8th Light candle lighting of Hanukkah.
This light awaits favor from above.
May you find grace where you didn’t expect it.
May doors open without force.
May people see you with goodwill,
not with resistance.
Let what you carry find a place to be received.
Let your presence land gently in the world.
Grace flows when humility becomes light.
Let the light do its work.
— Rabbi Shalom Landau
Source: Adapted from Daily Dose of Torah
Footnote — This metallic sculpture by Frank Meisler dedicated to Reb Alter (Hasidic spiritual leader and founder of Chabad) came home with us after our 3-week pilgrimage to Israel in 1993. It was at the threshold of Jason's Bar Mitzvah year and Michelle was still a child. I am not Jewish (though I celebrate the Jewish holidays with family and friends), yet its stillness, scholarly presence, and sense of devotion spoke to me deeply — then, as it does today.
