Illumination in Dark Times
What is Hope?
Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: Those who pray and see that their prayers were not answered, should pray again, as it is stated: “Hope in Adonai; be strong and of good courage! Have hope in Adonai!” (Psalms 27:14). In other words, one should turn to God with hope, and if necessary turn to God again with hope. (Berakhot 32b)
Hope locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act…Hope is an embrace of the unknown and knowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists. Optimists think it will all be fine without our involvement; pessimists take the opposite position; both excuse themselves from acting. It’s the belief that what we do matters even though how and when it may matter, who and what is may impact, are not things we can know beforehand… (Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark)
Blessed are You, Adonai, who illumines even the darkest hours.
Questions to Consider:
Where have you found hope this year? / What have you hoped for this year?
What hopes do you have for your family and friends?
What have you done this year that you feel like has mattered?
Share The Light
Place your Chanukiyah in your window for all the world to see!
Family Activities
This year has been hard for everyone, including kids. Many of us are carrying around fears and that can make us feel hopeless and dark. See if you can add some light to the darkness – literally and metaphorically.
Read a Book
Read the book “A Flicker of Hope” by Julia Cook, or watch the author read it.
Play with Shadows
Make the darkness come alive with shadow puppets!
Play in the Dark
Bring fun to the darkness with easy games to play in the dark.
