בימים הללו שנעשו נסים [ונדלקו נרות] על פי נס אף שגם בחינת הנרות היה חסר לבני ישראל אזּ, ממילא ההארה גם עתה למצוא סיוע על ידי מצות נר חנוכה למצוא על ידי הנרות בחינת הגנז. ועיקר גניזה הוא בחושך שצריכין נרות לחפש ולמצוא...
Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger 1847-1905) in Dr. Arthur Green, The Language of Truth, p.378
Especially at this season, when lights were miraculously lit for Israel even though they did not have enough oil, there remains light even now to help us, with the aid of these Hanukkah candles, to find that hidden light within. The Hanukkah candles are a spiritual symbol; the light of the commandments by which we search out our inner selves. We seek out the hidden divine light within ourselves; the mitzvot are light-seeking candles, instruments given to us to aid us in that search.
-
What strikes you in the text above?
-
How does the Sefat Emet understand the meaning of the Hanukah candles?
-
How does the idea of “finding the hidden light within” resonate (or not) with you? What has been your experience (if any) of seeking or finding the “hidden light within”?
-
What mitzvot (or other practices) are “light seeking candles” for you?
Pat B. Allen, Art as a Spiritual Path
״Imagination is the deepest voice of the soul and can be heard clearly only through cultivation and careful attention. A relationship with our imagination is a relationship with our deepest self.״ |
What does this text add to your discussion?
How might imagination, intuition, and/or creativity be “light seeking candles” for you?
We cannot identify the abundant vitality within all living beings, from the smallest to largest, nor the hidden vitality enfolded within inanimate creation. Everything constantly flows, vibrates, and aspires. Nor can we estimate our own inner abundance. Our inner world is sealed and concealed, linked to a hidden something, a world that is not our world, not yet perceived or probed.
Everything teems with richness, everything aspires to ascend and be purified. Everything sings, celebrates, serves, develops, evolves, uplifts, aspires to be arranged in oneness. (Rav Abraham Isaac Kook , Orot Hakodesh 2:374)