Sparks of Light: Third Night

In our busy and goal oriented lives it is rare that we have an action with no practical purpose. We are used to thinking about actions in terms of what opportunities they create or how they better position us for future eventualities.

On Chanukah the rabbis were particularly interested in helping us avoid the trap of thinking “כוחי ועוצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה” that our strength and actions are what have created our national and personal victories.

In הנרות הללו we say “ואין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם אלא לראותם בלבד כדי להודות ולהלל לשמך”. We have no permission to use the candles, we are only allowed to gaze upon them so that we can thank and praise Hashem. Perhaps these two ideas are connected and only by letting go of our need to be physically productive can we truly appreciate that Hashem is the true source of our successes.

To stress this idea even further, some have the minhag not to do any work at all while the candles are burning. We can use this opportunity to reflect on all that Hashem does for us and realize that our success depends on more than our own work. As we sing הנרות הללו and מעוז צור, we can take advantage of these ideas to focus on appreciating our time together with our families without worrying about all of the work in our life that often interferes with what is truly important.