Rabbi Sonja K. Pilz: On light and darkness

By Rabbi Sonja K. Pilz Religion columnist

Merry Christmas! And Happy Chanukah!

It is odd for a rabbi to write the religious column on a week that is so clearly marked for most of this newspaper’s readers by a non-Jewish holiday.

But the truth is that this year, when the eight days of Chanukah and the season from Christmas to New Year almost entirely overlap, I find comfort in the thought that we are lighting candles together, each one of us — and all of us together — increasing the light in this world.

This year, 2024, has brought much darkness and fear into the world, and my sense is that the dark days are not yet over despite the increasing hours of daylight at this time of the year.

Many of us have turned to new practices to maintain a sense of personal safety, calm, and connection to the better parts of us. We intuitively understand that to not only survive but to protect the best parts of us we need to live more deeply.

We can’t trust that the world lay out the right paths for us — we have to find them ourselves, carefully illuminating our steps, making sure we won’t get lost in darkness, chaos, and fear.

Today, I want to share a practice by Rabbi Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, who lived and was murdered during the Holocaust in Poland in the 20th century. It is called a Quieting Meditation, and it is described in Rabbi Shapira’s book Conscious Communities — a book I personally keep returning to.

In his book, Rabbi Shapira describes how calming and re-centering something as simple as repeating a sentence of Torah can be.

A sentence like Proverbs 20:27:

The human soul is the flame of God that searches the inner chambers.

The practice of repetition, of centering on one verse, maybe even only one word (like “flame”), is an almost universal practice. By repeating a scripted word or sentence, we allow its message to overtake our minds and hearts, to dispel the darkness of anxiety, fear, and tension, and to create an inner space of calm and power.

I believe in the calm and power of the words of our tradition, and I believe in a wisdom that grew in the darkest of times. When we take the moments to recite words of calm and power, we become calm and powerful enough to be present to others and to share a sense of connection, generosity, and love.

May Rabbi Shapira’s light guide us through a time of darkness and may all of us find ourselves being candles in the service of the God.

Light nights and days to all of us!