Can a candle pierce darkness? Can in it thaw a broken heart?
I rub my hands together like a match. This HanukkahThe holiday which celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem following its conquest by the Syrians in 165 BCE. The holiday is celebrated by lighting candles in a hanukiyah oon each of eight nights. Other customs include the eating of fried foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts), playing dreidl (a gambling game with a spinning top), and, in present day America, gift giving. will be different.
I am not a Maccabee, but I am among their ranks. To advertise light: how fanatical, how fantastical.
The hills of Judea howl with anger. My heart burns like the end of a match.
I am not warm yet but I am not cold, either. I realize I’ve been writing in tears.
Stand over me like a Shamash.
Bend your arms around me like a flame.
Tell me even amidst all this darkness we will find light.
As I count out the holes, I realize there are too many candies missing to fill a menorahThe seeven-branched menorah stood in the Temple, and many present-day synagogues feature the menorah. Titus' arch depicts the Romans' sacking of the Temple and theft of the menorah. A nine-branched menorah called a Hanukkiyah is lit on Hanukkah to symbolize the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days..
