Hope for the future will light the way

Hanukkah, Festival of Light, reminds us of our responsibility to bring light into a world that sometimes seems so dark. All around us these days we see signs of doom and gloom and the news seems to grow more depressing by the day. Feelings of uncertainty make us fearful for the future in a way that is most unfamiliar to us.

Let us remember that we Americans have been imbued with an attitude that says that all obstacles can be overcome and we Jews are heirs to a history that has often presented with us with difficulties that seemed insurmountable. Yet we are here and we are strong.

In recent years, Hanukkah has been a time to enjoy success and affluence beyond the imagination of our ancestors. This year, our thoughts are infused with questions that we are not accustomed to asking: “What will be with my job? Will I be able to pay my mortgage? Will I weather this storm and emerge stronger? Will my family, my friends, my neighbors? What can I do to help those who are in even worse straits than I?”

I am not an economist, nor a politician — only a rabbi. As a rabbi, I seek answers to our existential and perplexing issues in the texts that have shaped our history and tradition. I find strength and the ability to confront the darkness in the light created by the words of our ancestors; words like those of Jeremiah 31:16, “There is hope for your future!”

Jeremiah was a witness to the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple. He saw the utter collapse of the nation of Israel and the exile of its inhabitants. And yet, he could say with certainty, “There is hope for your future!”

We will have the hope that Jeremiah had. We will not succumb to fear and anxiety. We will be full of faith in a better future. We will prevail again this time. Light will overcome darkness!

Have a joyous Hanukkah, filled with light and warmth!

Rabbi Elliot Skiddell is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Emeth in Hewlett.