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NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

Gael Grunewald

To Ignite the Candle Within

hanukah is a holiday of oppo- – enthused, alive, ebullient. ‘Placing’ The response to these dangers is
sites and contradictions – the symbolizes the soul opting for rest, the mitzvah. The mitzvah separates
Cfew against the many, the settling, routine. the wheat from the chaff and the
impure versus the pure, light and dark. meaningful from the meaningless,
The mitzvot of the chag are also deli- And so Rav Levi Yitzchak explains the ensuring that our passions and
cately balanced in “no-man’s land” – not debate. Those who say that lighting yearnings are channeled into the
placing the chanukiah too high or too makes the mitzvah mean that ideally a scared. Likewise, the world of mitzvot
low, lighting at the interface of day and person should fulfil the mitzvah with gives substance to that enthusiasm,
night, between the house and the street. burning enthusiasm, and those who holding it, preserving it and able to
hold that ‘placing makes the mitzvah’ ignite it again and again. It is the
Throughout the discussions in the acknowledge those moments in our mitzvot that connect enthusiasm to
Gemara, we come across the debate lives that we just cannot enlist our the world of eternity.
about whether it’s “the lighting that soul to be aroused by the ‘lighting,’ yet
makes the mitzvah” or “the placing even then we should not forego the Connecting Opposites
that makes the mitzvah.” mitzvah and observe it if only by rote.
There is a value to drab persistence, to Thus, Chanukah also represents the
In other words, if a person first lights tension between static and dynamic.
the chanukiah in a place where he habit, to fulfilling mitzvot in a routine
does not fulfil the mitzvah, and only way. This tension is enmeshed in all
afterwards places it in his window or Rav Levi Yitzchak is describing one aspects of our lives – in prayer, in our
at the door, is he considered to have of the fundamentals of Chassidut: relationships, in parenting and in our
fulfilled the mitzvah or not? If we say observing mitzvot through professional lives. We cannot keep
the lighting is the determining factor, enthusiasm and a love of G-d. This things burning bright for too long
then no, but if we say the placement is was the great message of Chassidism, and it is also impossible to remain too
what counts, then as soon as he places created to breathe new life into what long in a debilitating routine without
the lit chanukiah in the right place, he had become a dormant, routine- the occasional burst of enthusiasm.
has fulfilled the mitzvah. style Judaism. To emphasize passion Chanukah teaches us the middle path.

In a similar vein, if the candles burn for mitzvot and love of G-d over
out before their full time, do we mechanical ritual. The family stands together at a
need to relight them or not? If it’s juncture in time that is neither
the lighting that counts, then we’ve The Dangers of Enthusiasm night nor day, in a place that is not
already fulfilled the mitzvah and there really inside the house yet not really
is no need to light again. But if it’s the Nevertheless, there is danger in the outside, and lights a small light that
placement that counts, we haven’t ecstatic spiritual experience. Rav Levi illuminates a world of darkness.
fulfilled the mitzvah until the lights Yitzchak notes the tension between The Chanukah lights are beacons by
burn in the right place for their full the lighting and the placing, between which we can walk safely in a world
allotted time, hence we would have to breaking out of one’s comfort zone full of opposites and contradictions.
light the candles again. and remaining in routine. He cites
three particular dangers: i) the escape Lights that ignite the flames of desire
and enthusiasm within eternity.
Excitement Versus Rote from routine is fast and knows no
limits, and hence can spill over into (Based on an article by Rav Itamar
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev meaningless matters. ii) since it is Elad.)
addresses these debates in the momentary, it passes quickly and
Gemara and explains that the root cannot be maintained over time.
of the differences in opinion is And iii) “sparks are not real,” i.e. raw Gael Grunewald is Deputy Chairman
manifested in two ‘movements’ of the enthusiasm has no existence in and of the WZO and Head of its Education
soul: lighting and placing. ‘Lighting’ of itself. It always needs something to Department. He is one of World Mizrachi’s
symbolizes the soul’s full engagement ignite it. representatives in the National Institutions.

Jewish faith is about courage, endurance and the capacity to hold
fast to ideals even when they are ignored by others. | 51
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