By Rabbi Koval
Did you ever notice how people (myself included:) will drive to an art museum, "ooh and aah" over a picture of a beautiful sunset, while not noticing the beautiful sunset in the sky on their way over?!
Why is that? Why is a beautiful photo more attractive to us than the "real thing"?
The explanation to this phenomenon is captured in a bumper sticker that I saw this morning! "Time will come and go, but moments last forever." When we see a sunset in "real time," it's hard for us to really stop and enjoy the "moment." Our lives are just too busy to stop and think. However, if that moment is frozen in time and framed for our convenience, it's much easier for us to enjoy and focus on that "moment"!
"I'm upset that Chanukah is over," my 10-year old daughter said to me this morning, as I walked her to her bus stop. We all feel some of that letdown whenever an enjoyable holiday or special event comes to a close. The Torah, however, gives us the tools to preserve some of the goodness of the holiday, and enjoy it later on down the road of life.
We do that by turning "time" into a "moment." I'll share with you the spiritual approach of my rabbi, Rabbi Hirschfeld: take a mental picture of a special moment in your Chanukah celebration, perhaps a mental snapshot of lighting Chanukah candles with your family. Then, later on in the year, close your eyes and focus on that image.
Specifically, consider trying this on Friday evenings, when you light the Shabbos candles. After all, the Talmud compares these two candle-lighting rituals, with the following statement, and I paraphrase: "He/she who makes the effort to light the Shabbos and Chanukah candles meticulously (at the proper time,) will be blessed by G-d with children who bring light and goodness to the world!" Allow the Shabbos candle-lighting moment to be your weekly trigger of that warm and fuzzy Chanukah "moment." Focus on it for a moment and allow the goodness of the moment to penetrate into your heart...
Try it today. I'm going to focus on a wonderful mental Chanukah snapshot that I have in my brain: it was the final night of Chanukah, at our JFX Chanukah party at our home. With my children lighting the candles and a carpet full of sweet JFX kids, the future of our people, sitting on the floor, listening to the story, watching the candles and enjoying the party!
