Light, and the Hierarchy of Life,Clarity is always described as light,Darkness, Light, and the Hierarchy of Life,Clarity is always described as light
W hen the stream of life meanders along smoothly thoughts of what’s most important to us flow beneath the surface bubbling up only when a pebble is thrown into otherwise calm waters. Even when the vicissitudes of life break the surface calm we try to smooth things over we self-soothe. We eat more busy ourselves with everything but the problem at hand speak to our friends to vent but not really to get advice. Of course when the pebble becomes a large rock that disrupts our lives we triage. Bake sale out. Doctors in. Redecorating on hold. Priorities come into focus.
The lessons of Chanukah are meant to prod us into living a different life with the light of clarity before it’s forced on us by circumstance. The Nesivos Shalom teaches that it is possible to live a life filled with Torah and mitzvos and still be living in the darkness if the light of our larger purpose doesn’t illuminate our daily existence. It’s the difference between living a life that feels like we are in an Escape the Room challenge where all our energies are focused on the details of the room we’re in or living in a tower above a garden maze seeing the starting point the exit and the twists and turns in between that take us to our destination a life where the bigger picture is in the forefront of our consciousness.
The greatest darkness is confusion. In the world outside darkness is the confusion over the very concept of right and wrong. Each individual left to his own devices must superimpose some set of values on his existence so his life doesn’t seem haphazard and purposeless. In the Torah world we live life within the Divine frame that sets the parameters of right and wrong. Yet within those boundaries there are still many choices we must make. It’s easy to be confused over what is more or less important over what takes priority and should receive the most focus resources and time.
Sometimes it’s a simple question like when a woman asked me whether it was important to stretch her family’s budget (and her nerves) to take a vacation with her children. Her question was twofold. What is the importance of a family vacation? What is its relative importance in the bigger scheme of her life — and how much should she stretch herself to do this? Sometimes the questions are larger: Who comes first my husband or my parents?
