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The year was 1995.  That may feel like a long time ago for some, and like the blink of an eye for others.  Two close friends and I were arranging our menorahs on the sixth night of Chanukah, much as we’ll arrange ours at Temple on the sixth night tonight.  We proudly placed them on the windowsill, and as we watched the lit candles, wholly entranced, one of us remarked that at other times in our history we might have not have displayed our menorahs so prominently for fear that a rock could come crashing through the window.

Naturally, I craned my neck to peer at the growing darkness outside, trying to be certain that there were no anti-Semitic rock throwers nearby.  And that for those moments that year, we were safe.

Our rabbis of old discussed the mitzvah of “publicizing the miracle.”  But even they acknowledged that in times of danger it was permissible to use a tabletop instead.  Wherever we place our menorahs though, Chanukah is meant to be celebrated with gratitude and with light hearts, in every sense of the word.

How hard that has been to come by this year… this week, bookended by violence and tragedy as it has been.  From Providence to Australia, the reminders that hatred and bigotry are alive and well in this world are palpable.  Who among us has not battled the wish to observe the holiday in the shadows this year?  What would it take to bring it back into the light?

It would mean turning to the holiday itself for the age old and contemporary inspiration embedded in these days.  We may not be able to stop the tools of war.  But we can stand tall against them, kindling one candle at a time.  We can help each other shine.  We can lean on the better tools of resilience, pride and a sense of all that is still beautiful and miraculous in this world.

Like Joseph in Miketz, our Torah portion this week, we can dream of better times.  Of Chanukah candles shining in windowpanes without fear they will be shattered.  Of a world made more whole through memory and hope.

I look forward to our being together tonight for Shabbat and Chanukah, celebrated with dinner and menorah lighting at 5:00pm and our Family Service with 3^rd-4^th grade leadership at 6:30pm.

Rabbi Rebecca Gutterman