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December 2007

Praise the One Who makes Miracles!

The below is an excerpt from the National Center for Jewish Healing’s publication The Outstretched Arm, A Counting of Hallel for Hanukkah.

Praise the One Who makes Miracles!

One light in the darkness
To vanquish years of strife;
One light is all we need
To illuminate a new beginning.

One is enough, Almighty G-d
To pierce the darkness.

Two shining in synchrony,
Two lights to recall sun and moon;
G-d’s light in the universe
Becomes our light to use for good.

Two are enough, Almighty G-d
To reveal You are ever near to us.

Three lights pure and clear,
A triad sounding in the darkness,
A major chord louder than sadness
Resonates with ancient voices.

Three are enough, Almighty G-d
Three nights to sing your praise.

Four lights define the holy ark,
Cleaned of desecration, polished,
Refreshed in holiness,
Gleaming through the toil of our hands.

Four are enough, Almighty G-d,
Four corners of Your earth restored.

Five lights trace with fingertip care
The faces of all gathered to work
In the daily desecration of Your Name,
Simple kindnesses that make us holy.

Five are enough, Almighty G-d,
To feel Your hand on our shoulders.

Six lights that connect us together,
Generations and cousins, friends and strangers,
Searching together to repair and rebuild,
To banish hunger and cold and doubt.

Six are enough, Almighty G-d,
To bind our hearts to one another.

Seven lights shimmer like liquid gold
To bless the ordinary and make it holy.
In partnership with You, we choose.
In partnership, we glow with new light.

Seven are enough, Almighty G-d,
For us to distinguish the path to righteousness.

Eight lights flame, a week and a day,
More than the hand or heart can hold,
But still we grasp it all,
Greedy we draw near to You.

Eight are enough, Almighty G-d,
To point us toward our future:

To light the path to miracles.

These "Spirituality Notes" are excerpts from our monthly E-newsletter. Articles are © JBFCS Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs and may be reprinted free of charge as long as this credit line is included.

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