B"H

THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH OF TEVES

      Chanukah begins on the 25 day of the month of Kislev.
      No other holiday appears at the end of a month. Since our months are lunar, the moon has almost disappeared when Chanukah arrives. All other holidays begin when the moon is at the beginning or the middle of its cycle. They are times of brightness, but Chanukah comes amidst darkness, when days are at their shortest and even the night sky is black.
      Chanukah, therefore, is the quintessential yom tov of Exile. We kindle lights in the darkness to remind ourselves that the key to ending our Exile is in our hands. We can illuminate the world!
      We have just read the Portion of Vayaishev, which describes the friction between Joseph and his brothers that led to our original exile in Egypt. We know that the cause of our present exile is the same: friction among the Children of Israel, what we refer to as "sinas chinom," unwarranted hatred. If it were not for that sinas chinom, Moshiach would already have come and we would no longer be subject to the venom of our enemies and the torture of Exile.
      I want to tell you a story.
      Recently, Leah and I spent a week in Israel. We left New York at midnight. As anyone knows who has taken this flight, at about 4 am the sun comes up and one must begin morning prayers. With the plane flying east at hundreds of miles per hour, one has very little time. I woke up and the cabin was dark; the lights were low and all window shades were closed, but I sensed that it was time to pray. I got up and went to a window that was away from people, near the galley, and opened it about four inches to see if the sun were indeed up.
      At that moment a stewardess came running over.
      "How dare you open that window and disturb others," she said, in a very agitated tone. "Don't you have any consideration? Close that shade immediately."
      I turned around and said, "I opened the window just to see if the sun is up so I would know if it is time to pray. No one was disturbed; I intentionally chose this window and opened it only slightly."
      She continued to make agitated noises, but our confrontation ended. I got my tallis and tefillin and then came back to where this stewardess and others were standing, and I asked them where I should pray so that I wouldn't disturb anyone. They pointed out a good place, with a decent amount of room, but, since the entire plane was dark, it was hard to see. Only a little light from the galley illuminated the spot where I stood.
      And then something amazing happened.
      This same stewardess came over to where I was praying, and she turned on a light directly overheard, so that I would have light to see! It made all the difference in my prayers.
      After finishing, I went over and said to her, "I want to tell you that you did a tremendous act of kindness for me. I really appreciate it, and I want to give you a blessing, that G-d should always give you light."
      She looked at me with such happiness! For one thing, I doubt too many passengers had given her a blessing before! But she deserved it. She had to overcome a lot to do that act of kindness for me.
      I thought a lot about this incident, and an hour or so later I went over to her and said, "I want to tell you that I think our whole scene was a metaphor for the condition of the Jewish People. Most people think that we all just fight with each other, and that is our basic condition. But it is not true. The fighting is only skin deep. The truth is that we all want to be friends, that we want to do acts of kindness for each other, to be one mishpacha again and be united in friendship. And you proved it!"
      Without exaggeration, I would not be surprised if this were one of the happiest moments of her life. She looked like a new person, and, to tell you the truth, I believe that what I said to her is correct. I think we are all beginning to realize there is no substance as well as no future to the friction among us. In our hearts, we all desire to be one nation, one family, "one people with one heart" as we were at Mount Sinai.
      That, my friends, is how we will bring Moshiach. Then the world will be full of light and our Exile will be a thing of the past.
      May we see it very soon, in our days!
      With blessings and Chanukah greetings!
       
                                                                                                 Roy S. Neuberger