Over 80 people gathered to celebrate the Chanukah miracles, with the [Chabad of the South Shore] lighting of the Plymouth Rock public menorah, on Sunday, Dec. 29, the fifth night of Chanukah, when suddenly a crash was heard.
It was the menorah glasses, the clear glass covers which protect the flames from the elements, which were mistakenly knocked over and a few of which broke as they fell on the ground.
For a brief moment, as I thought the glass was unusable, one of our dedicated community members reached over and picked up the half-broken glasses and placed them over the candles, as if they belong there.
As I looked up and saw the flames dancing within the broken glass, it inspired something inside me, as the broken glass brought thoughts of the broken hearts experienced by good people everywhere, during these difficult times.
As the flames flickered, framed by the fragmented shards, they seemed to share the Chanukah messages from thousands of years ago, and was resonating deeply with me.
It was a message of hope; a message to not stop shining your inner light of goodness, even when the darkness and evil feel intimidating and overwhelming. Because indeed it is the inner light of goodness which is found within each of us that has the power to illuminate the darkness, inspire freedom over oppression, and bring healing to a fractured world, and our broken hearts.
With wishes for a happy Chanukah and blessed 2025, for all.
– Rabbi Levi Lezell
Lezell is the rabbi of the Chabad of the South Shore.