There is much excitement in the air these days. It is Chanukah! There is news about a vaccine, which means that there is “light” at the end of the tunnel.
It is tradition to read the newspaper to know the current news. As Jews, we take tradition a step further and look at the Torah portion to gain a deeper appreciation of that same news. The question is: what can the Torah portion teach us this week about Chanukah and the news of the vaccine?
This week’s Torah portion tells a fascinating story about Judah and Tamar, but that is not for now. However, I would like to point out one seemingly trivial detail in the story—that the city that they lived in, Timnah, was built on a hill. If you think about that detail, you may ask, why did it matter where the city was located?
Generally, a city is built either near the road at the foot of a mountain, so that it can trade easily with travelers, or at the top of a mountain, so that its inhabitants can protect themselves well. Building on the side of a mountain, has neither advantage. Actually, it only has disadvantages since one home is built above the other. The Torah must be telling us something significant here.
Clearly, the Torah is not just telling us some random fact about this city, but a lesson in life.
In life we have a choice; we can view ourselves as standing on the top of a mountain. proud of ourselves. Or, we can view ourselves at the bottom, thinking that we are small and insignificant. Judaism teaches us that we should always view ourselves as climbers, trying to make our way up the mountain. We should never be satisfied with where we are, always trying to accomplish more. However, as we move our way forward, we should do so with pride.
On the first night of Chanukah, we light one light, but the second night we add one more light, and on the third, we add one more—just as we do when we climb a mountain, every day, we take one more step forward, adding more light into our lives and into the lives of those around us.
The world has gone through a lot this past year. Yet, we see that the world will just get brighter if we do our part by adding light. Just a little light will make the world that much brighter.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah!