Balancing Darkness and Light by Rabbi Benny Berlin

The Jewish Home | DECEMBER 22, 2022 Sparks of Light Balancing Darkness and Light

By Rabbi Benny Berlin

There are just over eight weeks between Sukkos and Chanukah, and the contrast between the two holidays – and their approaches to light – highlight an intriguing revelation about their close proximity.

Sukkos, in contrast to Chanukah, is not a well-known holiday outside of Orthodox Jewry. What might surprise most (even those of us who are familiar with Sukkos) is that it actually bears numerous similarities to Chanukah, serving as one another’s paralleled counterpart on the Jewish calendar.

On a surface level, both holidays are celebrated over eight days and share in the concept of hiddur mitzvah, which means going above and beyond to use the best of our financial resources to fulfill the customs of the holiday: For Sukkos, we search for and purchase beautiful sets of the Arba Minim, whereas on Chanukah we seek out the purest olive oil for our Chanukiyas. On both, we also say “Hallel,” showing thanks to Hashem for the miracles He did for us on the corresponding holiday.

More profoundly, both holidays share in their special commandments to focus our attention toward the other nations of the world. On Sukkos, during the time of the Beis Hamikdash, the Jews gave unique offerings every day to pray for the wellbeing of the nations of the world. Similarly, on Chanukah, we try to spread inspiration to our neighbors around us by lighting our candles where people can see them in our windows.

Both holidays, in their own way, beg the eternal question the Jewish people face: how do we navigate and engage with the secular world that surrounds us while also remaining true to the ways of the Torah? The answer to finding that delicate balance is revealed in the juxtaposition that characterizes the two holidays.

The sukkahs we erect for Sukkos symbolize the Ananei HaKavod, the Clouds of Glory that protected our ancestors while they sojourned in the desert for 40 years, ultimately leading them

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mies in the desert. On Sukkos, we focus on the elements we grapple to keep out, hence the commandment to put sufficient s’chach so that the shade coming

May everyone see in our holiday menorahs the message of what we are trying to give: love and light to all those around us.

found in the ransacked Beis HaMikdash and that it was able to keep the menorah alight for eight full days.

When considering both holidays in close succession, they help guide our most common conundrum: what elements do we, as God-fearing Jews, shield ourselves from to maintain our identities as a small nation and which ones do we seek out in order to emanate an abundance of light and inspiration, as we are so commanded?

As the famous quote goes, “No man is an island”; we all rely on one another. Despite all of the contributions that prominent Jews have made to the fields of medicine, science, infrastructure and society, it is disappointing, to say the least, when one person’s hostile words overpower all that good and spark an entire wave of hatred towards our people as happened of late.

As observant Jews, we care about everyone around us: all cultures, races, and religions. This point is further bolstered by the revelatory messages in Chanukah and Sukkos, with the special commandments to spread light and pray for the wellbeing of other nations. When we are treated with reproach, and it might make us long for the shade of the sukkah, we are nonetheless commanded to put ourselves “out there,” to inspire the nations of the world on Chanukah. May everyone see in our holiday menorahs the message of what we are trying to give: love and light to all those around us.

This holiday, if we can bring the world even just a little extra light, its power can be tremendous and dispel a lot of the recent darkness around us.