My wife, Chaya Bracha, and I merited having a personal audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe before our wedding forty years ago. This was only a year after the Rebbe had suffered a major heart attack, and each visitor was instructed before they entered the Rebbe’s personal office that no kvitilach (notes asking for blessings) and no speaking to the Rebbe was allowed, unless, of course, he asked you a question. You were supposed to only listen. As we were waiting on line for our turn, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarski, one of the Rebbe’s management staff, saw us and after hearing those guidelines and told us, ‘You are getting married AND moving to Israel?!?! You must write a note to the Rebbe!” We did – and it changed our lives.
One of the blessings that the Rebbe gave us was that as a married couple, be”H, we should be a “A living example for others” in a way of “candles that shine outward”, to bring light to our surroundings. It is not always easy but that has been our mission.
Whether a person lights their Chanukah menorah inside their house, or in their doorway to the street or in their window, the message of Chanukah is that every Jew has a mission to be a shining light in their surroundings. This was Ascent’s inner purpose from the very beginning. Each of us is a Maccabee. Even though we might feel we are facing enormous obstacles and the chances for success are minimal, nevertheless, it is still within our ability to bring light to the dark, to transform our environment and change the world for the better.
Whether there is a person who needs physical help or spiritual guidance or a wrong that needs to be corrected or something good that needs to happen, if you see the difficulty, that is the sign that you have what it takes to make a difference.
May the light of our physical candles and our inner candles brighten the entire world.