Chanukah 5770 - Day Three: More Light

In Tehillim 113:13 Dovid HaMelech states "Mimizrach shemesh ad mevo'o mehulal sheim Hashem" - "From the rising of the sun to its setting, G-d's name is praised." This is the pasuk on the Tehillim card that I randomly chose from the pack today. The comment on the bottom reads, "From the time the sun rises in the east until its return to its source, we are actually witnessing G-d's lending us of His light." I assure that not all of the cards speak of light. I am not stacking the deck.

You Never Know: A Legend Of The Lamed-vavniks explores the concept of the thirty six hidden righteous people who keep the world going. It draws a parallel between what these people bring to this world and the thirty six Chanukah lights. It develops the idea that light and goodness can be hidden and things are sometimes not what you think. I think this is a serious matter, deserving of serious treatment and contemplation.

In the previous post I cited a passage about the woman whose wedding was a celebration of her life which was almost lost on Flight 1549. She appreciated hearing words of praise and seeing how many people turned out, saying it was a foreshadowing of what she might expect at her funeral. This brought to mind PT Barnum's request of the New York Evening Sun to print his obituary early to be sure he saw it in the paper before he died. They did it, writing among other things that "he added to the sum of childhood's and of human joy." In other words, despite his flaws, he contributed to the world positively, in his own way.

As I prepare to shut the light, I write.

Better try the old ABC system, I think

Come and listen to my pre sleep thoughts

Dualism is an issue in my life

Everywhere I turn I see choices

For me there is also a good deal of grey

Great things come if you see all the shades

Help me G-d is sometimes all I can say

I'm thinking of light, maybe because it's Chanukah

Just a little more light, and a little more...

Knowledge is light

Let me have clarity

My G-d rolls away darkness for light

Now my body enters darkness, my soul goes to the Light

One G-d, just one G-d, one.

Please - one G-d, help me

Quietness is noisy sometimes, I pray for balance

Right now I am alone with G-d (and you)

Such odds - how did those Chashmona'im win?

Time flies, we have to hurry

Understanding Chanukah, like life, is not simple

Viewpoints abound; why eight days for a miracle of seven?

Why not say one day is to celebrate the miracle of "nature?"

Xmas has got nothing on the joy we should be feeling

Yes, we did

Zoroastrianism was wrong, there is only one G-d.

Good night and G-d bless

I am tired I confess

Happy Chanukah