Dear Friends,
It is right around the corner! I take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy 2017!
And, of course, we are right in the midst of our celebration of Chanukah – the festival of lights!
What might we wish for, as the new secular year begins?
Here are my thoughts…
My wish for 2017 is a wish that connects with the message of Chanukah as I understand it.
How so?
I believe that the lighting of the Chanukah candles, as we do it – lighting a single candle on the first day and adding a candle each night of the eight nights of Chanukah – sends a message, to ourselves and to others, that our individual actions have a positive cumulative effect. As each of us takes the time to increase the number of Chanukah candles we light, day by day, we remind ourselves that darkness is best countered by consistent and deliberate individual and communal acts of kindness and of light. And, that is how our Jewish values are best translated into reality.
May we add to the light of the world, as we ring in the new year – step by step, and day by day!
I would be glad to hear back from you as to your thoughts and wishes for 2017…
Shabbat Shalom and a very happy Chanukah to all!
Rabbi Gilah Dror
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