This meditation is inspired by the meditation of the Piasetzner rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymos Kalman Shapira, who was a great light in his generation and was murdered in the Shoah. He called it “Envisioning your ideal spiritual self.” He says: “If you have already tried everything without success, if you have tried to rouse your soul with all your means but it has not been aroused to lead the conscious life that it should and to yearn for the spiritual life that behooves it, this is what you should do. […] Hold these images in your mind’s eye. Inevitably you will be roused to a higher awareness.”
The meditation is adapted for 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., the festival of lights. It is about the hinukh of our souls, learning to realize its potentential. It is about letting our lights shine into a dark world that needs enlightenment, without being shy about it. It is about walking with HashemLit. The Name, referring to the ineffable name of God; used as a substitute for any of the more sacred names of God when not speaking in prayer. Particularly used in conversation., like Hanokh did.
