There is really no need to repeat it: everyone knows how a candle dispels a great, even astounding, amount of darkness.
The following are three Jewish examples of what this means, plus a short addendum from a faraway place.
Torah-Light
A Blessing
Brachot 17a
Eruvin 54a
May your eyes sparkle with the light of TorahRefers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, also called the Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or the Hebrew equivalent, Humash. This is also called the Written Torah. The term may also refer to teachings that expound on Jewish tradition. Read more
and may your ears hear the music of its words.
May the space between each letter of the scrolls
bring warmth and happiness to your soul.
May the syllables draw holiness from your heart,
and may this holiness be gentle and soothing
to you and all God’s creatures.
May your study be passionate,
and meanings bear more meanings
until Life itself arrays itself before you
as a dazzling wedding feast.
And may your conversation,
even of the commonplace,
be a blessing to all who listen to your words
and see the Torah glowing on your face.
Flashlight
Not long ago, I discovered an extremely interesting image in one of our early midrashim, the Pesikta deRav Kahana, Beshalach (11:8, Mandelbaum Edition): The proper practice is for the Talmid to walk before the Rav, carrying a פנס/panass—a lantern or torch.* The context is a list of things a student is expected to do for his teacher.
Physically, it is a very striking image. The student is the look-out for the teacher, scanner for any difficulty or danger. But, in addition, it is a reminder to the teacher that a student often provides great insight and guidance to the Torah being studied, and that Torah study is really a two-way phenomenon.
*פנס is the modern Hebrew word for a flashlight.
Mitzvah-Light
A mitzvah-cigarette-lighter — Joe the Butler: The greatest of all simple-happiness-mitzvah–doers: Joe Lejman of Gas City, Indiana, dressed in a tuxedo, borrowed fine china and crystal, and served as a butler for a day in a shelter for victims of domestic violence. All the women were given a bell. All they had to do was ring it, and their personal butler would come. To quote Lejman, “The ladies have such low self-esteem. Some of them have never felt special for any reason. During the course of the day, I was serving one of the clients coffee, and then lighted her cigarette, and she started crying. She said, ‘This is the first time I could ever cry because someone’s been so nice to me.’”
As our late spiritual teacher Abraham Joshua Heschel stated it, “I am convinced that the sense of meaning grows not by spectacular acts but by quiet deeds day by day.”
Addendum
How much, after all, does a candle cost? You can buy the entire Hanukkah supply from Target for $4.00, or 9¢ each. So, too, it is possible to bring the light of simple fun and happiness for children for so little investment: Once, when I was in The Dollar Store, I saw simple jumpropes for $1.00. I brought 10 of them to take to Guatemala with me on a mitzvah-mission. We distributed them, along with school supplies, puzzles, and toys to students we met. Once, a year after we had distributed them, a young girl, maybe 8 or 9, was excited to tell us she is still using her jumprope. So too, with a half-size soccer ball I bought somewhere else for $8 or $9. How many hours of pleasure or high-intensity fun get from those few dollars?
