The God Squad: Chana’s light

Then the teachers said, “Nobody will know what the menorah means and what Chanukah means if we do not teach them. Teachers are the most important.” So, the teachers lit the sixth light of the first Chanukah.

Then the tailors said, “We can’t have a naked Chanukah! We make the clothes and underpants for everybody. Tailors are the most important.” So, the tailors lit the seventh light of the first Chanukah.

Then the shepherds said, “Where do you think the tailors get the thread to make the cloth to make the clothes and underpants? They get it from wool and the wool comes from the sheep and we take care of the sheep and gather their wool. Shepherds are the most important.” So, the shepherds lit the eighth light of the first Chanukah.

The eight lights of the first menorah were beautiful but the people were not happy because they were all arguing about who was the most important.

That is when Chana, who was the daughter of Mattathias, who was the father of the Maccabees shouted, “Hey everybody, stop yelling! All you can see is your own light on your own branch of the menorah and that is just wrong. We need soldiers to keep us safe and priests to help us pray, and teachers to teach us the meaning of Chanukah. We need the oil makers and farmers and beekeepers to get us food, and we need the shepherds and tailors to make us clothes and underpants. Every one of you is the most important. Let us all look at the menorah a different way.”

Then Chana turned the menorah sideways. What the people saw then was not eight separate branches with eight separate lights but one single brighter light.

The people were happy, and they cheered for Chana. And that is why there is a ninth light on the Chanukah menorah. That ninth candle is used to light all the other eight lights. It is supposed to remind us that every light is important, and every person is important. And if we turn the menorah the right way we will see that one brighter light is better than eight separate lights.

The ninth light is called the shamash, which means that it is the helping light. The first idea of the people was to call the ninth light Chana’s light, but Chana did not want to have her name on a light. She didn’t think that she was that important. Chana just wanted to make all the other lights glow.

So, this Chanukah think of Chana’s light. Try to remember that everyone is important, and no branch is more important than any other branch. The best way to remember this is to turn your menorah sideways. Then, instead of separate lights, you can see the single brighter light. Chana would be happy if we did that … and so would God.

Happy Chanukah!

(Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including “Religion for Dummies,” co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman. Also, the new God Squad podcast is now available.)