Dear Temple Or Olam Members,

Before you light the Hanukkiah tonight, please take a moment to grab some paper and a pencil.

Then, light the first candle.

Wait just a little to open the presents. First, take a few moment to engage in knowing, in recognizing, and – most importantly, to rededicating.

Watch the candle burn – it takes just thirty minutes. If children and family are near, sit with one another. The candle will flicker and hold, stretch and go small. The blue at the core gives way to gold. Light, offered through the thin wick, is fragile, tender.

What are your hopes? What are your dreams?  Talk to the children about theirs.

Reflect on the things that matter most to you, the things that remind you who you want to be. Name your needs.  Then, write them down in the form of blessings. “May I be blessed with…” “May I find…” “May I know…”

Collect your blessings and drop them in a bowl. Do this as often as you like – perhaps the first and final nights of Hanukkah. Perhaps every other night. Perhaps each night.

These are your extra Hanukkah gifts to yourselves.

Hanukkah means “rededicate.” It is a time of year to assess, to reflect, to rededicate ourselves to all the wishes made during High Holy Days, to remember that we made such wishes. At Yom Kippur, we asked the Holy One of Blessing to give us the chance to do better this next year, to receive the blessings of wisdom and insight, to be granted opportunities to give and to award ourselves the right to receive.

We dedicated ourselves then to the tasks of becoming better at the job of being human, of growing in our Jewish practice and of building and caring for our Jewish community.

Let us rededicate ourselves to understanding what it is we need, what gifts may be ours to give ourselves. When we grow and learn, when we care for ourselves and others, when we reach out to connect with our community, that is when we ourselves help create the blessings we ask for.

When Hanukkah is over, collect your blessings and glue them into your Books of Life, the ones everyone received at High Holy Days. Look at them, their covers filled with stars and glittery colors. Look at your early notes, at your prayers, at the poetry we read together.

Abracadabra. We create that which we name.

May the Holy One bless all of you this first night of Hanukkah with all that you hope for!

Rabbi Barbara