Be The Light - The Power of Lighting Candles in Judaism

as I spend day after day confined to my home my thoughts are anything but confined they travel at lightning speed around the world to China Italy Israel IC shopping malls Airlines schools everything has been completely shut down I have so many questions after all of this is over which businesses will survive which institutions will survive which of us will survive and will it ever be over will the world ever be the same no one has the answers right now we're all in total darkness someone please should a little light light a little candle can go a long way in a dark world I always wondered if that's why Jews are so obsessed with candles and fire think about it we've been lighting fires for thousands of years we bring in Shabbat with fire we take out Shabbat a fire and we do the same for Rosh Hashanah and Kippur and every other holiday around the air on Hanukkah when we spend a whole week obsessively lighting candles unlocked by Omer we set the whole world ablaze in every synagogue we have that little everlasting flame and of course when someone passes away we light a little candle to remember them what is this obsession with fire maybe we're trying to access a certain type of light a light far brighter than any physical light that spiritual light that's existed since the beginning of time you see if you go back in time way back you'll find that both scientists and creationists remarkably agree on something that everything in the universe started with light if the Sun didn't exist yet where did this light come from this light dear friends was the powerful light of the spiritual world it was the fiery soul that exists within you and me everything the physical world is like a mirror reflecting the deeper spiritual elements of life so why is the human soul compared to a candle look at it this way the world was created with four elements water air earth and fire each of these elements naturally has its own unique direction water flows downward air moves in all directions earth is passive unmoving without an outside force and fires nature is to rise like a human soul flames must breathe change grow they strive against the darkness and ultimately one day fade away all the while rising facing upwards no matter which way the candle turns the flickering of candlelight reminds us of the precious fragility of life the life that must be cherished focused on the things that really matter when I light my Shabbat candles it's my unique reminder of the light in the world that is often so hard to see that I'm just too distracted to notice it's in the moment that my hands pass over the tip of the dancing flames that I feel the warmth of the fiery soul that connects us all and you know what when I light my candles I think the millions that came before me who lit their candles in the darkest parts of our history and when I think of them I realize I'm not alone I am part of the greatest legacy of what it means to be a light unto the nations so this Shabbat let us live that legacy and be the light [Music] you