Because I so enjoy the lightheartedness and fun of Hanukkah, I hate this last night of the holiday. You know, when it's basically *all over*. This week of lights has been full and fulfilling, with great joy and terrible sadness - a perfectly appropriate (and perhaps metaphoric) microcosm of the entirety of Jewish life.
This morning we tried to wrap our heads around and make sense of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, CT, as I'm sure many people all over the country tried to do. The great blessing was to address the issues surrounding this incident among a group of caring, intelligent, articulate, and feeling people.
This evening, we took the kids to see the Klezmatics at the DeBartolo Center at Notre Dame. I still think it's kinda funny that one of the most well-known and active Jewish bands would actually have a gig here in SB on the one Saturday evening during Hanukkah this year. It was a great show - wonderful musicianship and an upbeat mood was a great way to punctuate the holiday.
And then, arriving home, we remembered we didn't have enough candles to light the menorah (file under the category of "Hanukkah irony"). I pulled out the Shabbat candles, and the giant *chanukiah* they fit (which I think we got at Crate and Barrel a billion years ago)...and, voila, we kindled and blessed the lights for this final eve.
Miracles and stories recounted, candles lit and songs sung, latkes eaten, dreidels spun, it's nearly time to put Hanukkah 5773 in the container of sacred memories. Thankful for them all.
No comments:
Post a Comment