Yehi Or-Let there be Light.
L is for Light
That I give and receive
By teaching and sharing with others
As we search for what we believe.
Truth is: We all possess light, different kinds of light. Sometimes we share that light, sometimes we hide it, even from ourselves. Sometimes it’s hard to access…yet, every single day we face a remarkable challenge to let that light, our light, shine forth. Bringing light into the world is as powerful a declaration of moral purpose as any act a human being can undertake. We learn in our tradition that as night descended at the end of humanity’s very first day on earth, Adam feared the darkness and wept. Then, God showed Adam how to make fire, and use its light and warmth to dispel the darkness. And never again did Adam need fear that which he could not see or understand, for he had now within himself the power to create light… and that is what we have been doing ever since. Sharing, studying, teaching, and traveling are among our greatest tools to kindle that light.
“May the Father of us all scatter light and not darkness upon our paths and make us useful here.”
George Washington
On a dark night I came upon a blind man carrying a torch. I asked him why he had need of it, after all he could not see. The blind man answered with these simple words, ‘I carry this light so that people may see me.”
Rabbi Yossi from the Talmud
Steven Lowenstein is an author and Rabbi of Congregation Am Shalom in Glencoe, IL www.amshalom.com
