What if Shammai was right?

Chanukah after October 7th

What if Shammai* was right?
What if
Each night
We go to light
And there is more darkness in our hearts
Than the night before?

What if we are not like Hillel
Cannot see the light increase
Cannot strike the match
Or have run out of wax and wick?

What if the wickedness
Of the world
Or the pain in our soul
Casts dark shadows
On the glimmering lights?

What if the miracle
Is the single flickering flame
On the last night
While the world
Tries to snuff you out?

For more wit and wisdom by Rabbi Jen Gubitz, visit www.jengubitz.com
or listen to www.omfgpodcast.com

*Hillel and Shammai debated how to light the Chanukah menorah. Shammai suggested taking a light away each night resulting in one candle on the final night. Hillel’s decisions often take precedent, but I’ve always wondered if maybe Shammai was right.