Light and Enlightment October 30, 2000 - December 26, 2000 A
holy light burns in the lights of Chanuka. A light as old as the
world itself. We may not use the Chanuka lights to illuminate
our homes. Their radiance may not be used for any practical
purpose at all. We may only look into the light itself. We may
only gaze into its depths. But why can't we use the lights of
Chanuka for some other sacred purpose? Why can't we use their
glow to read words of Torah, for example? What sets aside the
Chanuka lights from every other worldly light? Why may we only
gaze into the light itself -- and what are we supposed to see
there? Seeing The Light Darkness. You turn on a light. You can
look at light in two ways. Firstly, your surroundings are
illuminated. You can see what's around you. Second, you can see
the light itself, the source of illumination. And when you look
into the light -- into the source -- the world that surrounds
you recedes from view. When we look at our surroundings, our
perception of the light is sec