From the Rabbi

As a youthful activist, I regularly read a journal of news and analysis called “In These Times.” It’s still around, doing long-form journalism and investigative reporting on-line and in print.

So many things, in these times, happen on multiple platforms, even religion and spirituality. From Dharma Talks on RRS feeds to live-streamed Kabbalat Shabbat services to a plethora of smart phone apps with titles like “Meditation Helper,” we can consume our practices.

In this time of the year, consumerism reigns, rocks and rolls. And even as we know that Christmas and Hanukkah are not analogous holidays within Christianity and Judaism respectively, surely it must gladden even the most humbug-filled Jewish heart to see some little blue-and-white tinseled gee-gaws amidst the green-and-red.

Or… not. It’s clear, however, that both of these sets of observances – our Festival of Lights and Christmas, with its series of four Advent candles lit on the four Sundays prior to Christmas (with a shamash-like candle in the center, no less) – feature adding light during the dark time of the year.

However we approach our practices, or feel about the consumer culture that drives this time of year, it’s good to embrace the culture of just giving that comes with the candle-lighting holidays. The medieval mystics Joseph Gikatilla commenting on a verse in Proverbs 10, says: “A person who does tzedakah (right giving) brings forth the righteous one (tzadik) with righteousness (tzedek), thereby bringing life into the world and saving it from death!” Encountering this text brought to my mind a verse from Psalm 97, chanted on Friday nights, and on erev Yom Kippur: “Light is sown for the righteous, happiness for the steadfast of heart.”

If we can sow some light, enliven our times with our just giving – whether it’s in the name of Hanukkah, of the calendar year-end, or an anti-consumerism counter-cultural impulse – it’s sure to bring joy, and justice to these times.

Hag Urim Sameah - have a joyous and light-filled holiday.

- Rabbi Liz