december 2017

Rabbi’s message
Chanukah comes at the time of the year when it gets dark early and the night lasts long. In the darkest time of the year, we light lights. There are two ways we can understand Chanukah. The first is about history. It represents the victory of the Maccabees against Hellenists who sought to quench the light of Torah and worship by bringing a kind of spiritual darkness to the Jewish people. The triumph of light against darkness can also be seen as a metaphor for the perpetual struggle that has taken place over and over again throughout history. It is the struggle against those who represent cruelty, injustice and oppression by those who stand for kindness, justice and peace. This is a drama that has repeated itself over and over through human history. Perhaps the lesson of all of Jewish history is summarized in the story of Chanukah. That lesson is that no matter what, the good eventually wins out. The proof of that is that despite all that has happened, the Jewish people remain and not only survive, but thrive. We fight the darkness by lighting lights. Synagogues are one of the points of light. We stand for all those values which keep the world going, such as love, forgiveness and kindness. When you support and participate in synagogue life you are bringing light into the world. The synagogue serves to remind us and our communities of those values and thus helps light up the world. Happy Chanukah to all,
Rabbi Sussman