10 months ago
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Posted On: December 22nd 2025, 12:39 am
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✡️🕎 Chag Chanukah Sameach 🕎✡️
I heard someone talking about the Jewish phrase “be the light,” both the beauty of it and the frustration people feel around it. I say it a lot these days, but I’m not sure I’ve explained why. In Judaism, it comes from the idea of being a Light Unto the Nations: living with integrity, justice, compassion, strength, truth, love, and tikkun olam. That is Judaism.
For me, “be the light” isn’t about being quiet or agreeable. It’s about naming truth, being proudly Jewish, and advocating and encouraging others to show up for their communities with hope and empathy.
On Chanukah, we light the menorah using the shamash, the helper candle. It’s the one that lights the others by spreading more light. That’s how I think about Judaism and the Jewish people. We’ve survived thousands of years of attempts to erase us, and we’re still here, still lighting Shabbat and Chanukah candles, and refusing to disappear or hide.
Chanukah commemorates the Maccabees, a small Jewish army that stood up to the Greeks who tried to eradicate Jewish life and practice in Judea. They were outnumbered and outmatched, and still they won. After the Second Temple was desecrated, only enough oil for one night was found, but it burned for eight nights, long enough for new, pure oil to be prepared.
The story of Chanukah isn’t just about what happened then. It’s about what it takes to keep going when the light feels fragile or nearly gone and choosing to protect it and fight for it anyway. Am Yisrael Chai 🤍
I heard someone talking about the Jewish phrase “be the light,” both the beauty of it and the frustration people feel around it. I say it a lot these days, but I’m not sure I’ve explained why. In Judaism, it comes from the idea of being a Light Unto the Nations: living with integrity, justice, compassion, strength, truth, love, and tikkun olam. That is Judaism.
For me, “be the light” isn’t about being quiet or agreeable. It’s about naming truth, being proudly Jewish, and advocating and encouraging others to show up for their communities with hope and empathy.
On Chanukah, we light the menorah using the shamash, the helper candle. It’s the one that lights the others by spreading more light. That’s how I think about Judaism and the Jewish people. We’ve survived thousands of years of attempts to erase us, and we’re still here, still lighting Shabbat and Chanukah candles, and refusing to disappear or hide.
Chanukah commemorates the Maccabees, a small Jewish army that stood up to the Greeks who tried to eradicate Jewish life and practice in Judea. They were outnumbered and outmatched, and still they won. After the Second Temple was desecrated, only enough oil for one night was found, but it burned for eight nights, long enough for new, pure oil to be prepared.
The story of Chanukah isn’t just about what happened then. It’s about what it takes to keep going when the light feels fragile or nearly gone and choosing to protect it and fight for it anyway. Am Yisrael Chai 🤍
Comments (14)
10 months agoyouberrabelieveit
Such a beautiful and meaningful post! Happy Chanukah 🕎! Our light will always outshine their hate ✨
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