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Live Out Thy Life....
As The
In the Chasidic tradition, the
pupils and disciples of an emi
nent rabbi approached their
spiritual leader with a com
plaint about the prevalence of
evil in the world. Intent upon
driving out the forces of dark
ness they requested the rabbi
to counsel them. The rabbi sug
gested that they take brooms
and attempt to sweep the dark
ness from a cellar. The bewild
ered disciples applied themsel
ves to sweeping out the dark
ness, hut to no avail. The rabbi
then advised his followers to
take sticks and to beat vigor
ously at the darkness to drive
out the evil. When this like
wise failed, he said: “My child
ren, let each of you meet the
challenge of darkness by light
ing a candle.” The disciples des
cended to the cellar and kindl
ed their lights. They looked,
and behold! The darkness had
been driven out.
There are times when we,
too, feel overwhelmed by the
malevolent forces of evil in the
world. As we attempt to sweep
out the darkness and beat at
the evils that beset us, per
haps we sometimes forget that
the most effective manner of
combating darkness is through
the principle of light. The ad
monition of the Chasidic rabbi,
urgent in its appeal, may also
apply to those in our genera
tion: “Let each of you meet
the challenge of darkness by
lighting a candle."
Beginning with the command
of God in the first chapter of
the Bible, the principle of “Let
there be light" has been a chal
lenging motivation of the Jew
ish faith. Light has ever been
a dominant symbol of the Jew
ish spirit. When the land of
Egypt suffered the plague of
darkness, “all the children of
Israel had light in their dwell
ings.” At a later period, the
priest kindled the sanctuary
flame in obedience to the di
vine ordinance to keep “a per
petual light burning upon the
altar.” The Psalmist declared,
“The Lord is my light and my
salvation.” Groping for cer
tainty, faith and direction, he
prayed, “Oh, send forth Thy
iight and Thy truth, and let
them lead me." The practical
sage of Proverbs insisted that
“The commandment is a lamp
16
and the teaching is light.” The
God-inspired prophet exhorted
his people, saying, “O house of
Jacob, come, let us walk in the
light of the Lord.” He insisted
that if man would obey the
Torah and follow the com
mandments of God, “then shall
thy light break forth as the
morning; thy healing shall
spring forth speedily; and thy
righteousness shall go before
thee.”
When we light the Sabbath
candles, we declare that
"Light” is the symbol of the
divine law. Light is the symbol
of Israel’s mission." Through
out a long, colorful and God-
questing history, the people of
Israel have opposed the forces
of evil and resisted the threat
of darkness by a consecrated
devotion to the principle of
light
The poet, Algernon Swin
burne, may have known very
little about the Jewish symbol
ism of light, but when he wrote
these lines he gave poetic ex
pression to the challenge that
has motivated our people
through the centuries — a chal
lenge that still confronts us to
day:
A creed is a rod,
And a crown is of night;
But this thing is God;
To be a man with thy
might,
To grow straight in the
strength of thy spirit
And to live out thy life
as the light.
As we behold the darkness
in our world and in our lives,
shall we cry out in protest and
lament the evil? Shall we yield
to the darkness? Shall we beat
at it with futile desperation—
or, with the sustained power
of faith, shall we resolve to
grow straight in the strength of
our spirit and live out our
lives as the light?
What were the spiritual re
sources that enabled the Mac
cabees to meet the challenge
of darkness? Fully a century
before the French Revolution,
the philosopher, Charles Di
Secondat, known as Montes
quieu, provided the answer
when he exclaimed: “How
great is the power of enthus
iasm! When moved by thi^
Light
by WILLIAM B. SILVERMAN
Rabbi, Nashville Temple
(Congregation Ohabai Sholom)
The Southern Israelite