Light 'em up, but don't burn it down

By: Dov Lieber

Posted: 12/9/09

I love Christmas. Classic movies, jolly music, free peppermint candy canes and exotic frappachinos, it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. But the best part-and hats off to the Christians for this one-is the warm jubilant lights everywhere, when the nights are the longest and coldest. If only the Jews could have come up with such a brilliant and original idea as a festival of lights.
Whatever part of the Jewish spectrum you belong to-whether you follow bet Shammai or bet Hillel, Hirsh, Giegher or Shechter (or even Spinoza)-there is no reason not to light a menorah over Hannukah.
The lights of the Hannukah candles, which have come to represent (at least in America) the Jewish values of tolerance, peace and light (wisdom) over darkness (foolishness), are messages all Jews, whether religious or cultural, still share. And we must share them with all those around us.
As the Christian and secular members of UMD cheer up Jewish hearts every year with their Christmas lights, don't we owe it to them to return the favor. Recall the great (and perhaps minutely elitist) Jewish mission "to be a light unto the nations." By lighting Hannukah candles and publicizing them as best as possible-whether you have to do it in your friend's Commons apartment or a quick ceremony in your dorm hallway (before the RA commits a disgusting act of anti-Semitism by extinguishing the candles)-you can fulfill that mission both practically and metaphorically.
The survival of the Jewish people throughout their long and harsh history is the greatest story of hope. Period. But rarely do Jews express, share and lift others around us with our heartwarming tale. When your hand will light the Hannukah candles, from the tips of your fingers through the match or lighter and into the flame will channel the entire Jewish experience, all the suffering and all the triumph, into one beautiful, burning, warming, message of a brighter existence for all.