The Time-tested Cure for Seasonal Affective Disorder – Festivals of Light

Driving through Old Town Culpeper, after dark, I am quite taken with the holiday lights festooning the old-time streetlamps. They remind me of snowy winters up North in New Jersey, New York City, Boston, and Wisconsin.  As December advances towards the Winter Solstice, and the days get shorter and shorter, there is something magical and comforting in those lights.  I pre-date shopping malls, and so my memory banks include that wonderful feeling of chilly nights shopping on “main street” … with its seasonal motif lights, and well-lit stores bustling after dark with holiday shoppers. I now live deep in the woods, adjacent to the Shenandoah National Park.  Most of the year, my home feels completely secluded, wrapped in foliage.  But after Thanksgiving when the outrageous beauty of our autumn colors fades, and the trees are bare, I realize that I am not alone. From the window near my desk, I can finally see my neighbor’s house. In winter sunset comes early to Weakley Hollow Road, at least an hour before the rest of Madison County.  Night descends quickly. It is pitch black allowing me to step outside and observe all the winter constellations.  But in the evenings of December, there are two other observable sources of light here in the hollow. One is the light from the small, table-top Christmas tree in the living room of our only neighbor. The other light beams out from the Chanukah menorah in the window of our house. These two lights in the darkness reassure both families that neither is alone. Our traditions may be different, but in the darkness, it is the light that connects us. The Chanukah story of the miracle of a small jug of pure olive oil lighting the giant menorah in the Temple for eight days, is just that; a story to capture our imaginations. Cleaning up the desecrated Temple and rededicating the Temple to our God was symbolic of something even greater. What the story wants us to understand is that it was the Jews themselves who had to rededicate themselves to God! And that is why the oil they were to burn had to be PURE; for if the light of Judaism was to be rekindled, it could only be rekindled by an act that symbolized the PURITY of their intent. We’ve learned through our history that the most moving and powerful events have come out of the bleakest times. When times are darkest and hope is all but extinguished, a light comes… a glimmer, a shining star, a sun god, divine light, or, in the case of the Jews, candles to light the way, to bring us hope to carry us from the dark to the light. This holiday season, I hope that we can all learn to move toward the light whether our twinkling lights are blue and white, or red and green. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob