For kindling lights

The beginning of the world, our grand story tells us, started with “Tohu Vavohu”

This beginning state- unformed and void- was chaotic and messy -

With a pervasive, permeating darkness

God’s answer to the chaos is “Or” - light-

Our rabbis ask - but how was the light created?

Rabbi Shmuel ben Nachman, says to, Rabbi Schmuel-

I have heard that you are a master of haggadah- meaning, you are a master of telling stories-

Can you tell me from where the light was created?

And he tells a beautiful story.

He says, God, wrapped Godself up on a robe of light-

And then, stretched the fabric over the whole world - and the light shone from one end of the earth to the other-

It was, a gentle light-

Different from the light that is slipping from our skies tonight - and brighter than the illumination of moonlight

The light, the Rabbis tell us, enabled a person to see from one end of the earth to the other -

but - it was too pure-

Too pure for our messy world -

Too much light to see all of the imperfections

And so God hid that first light-

The primordial light - the light that envelopes

Which, the mystics tell us was concealed in the light of the eye -

In the illumination brought by goodness

And this is the light that we sow tonight

As we light the candles for Rosh Hashanah (and Shabbat as well), we reflect on, and reflect this light-

And we let their light envelop us-

a light that never diminishes

The light that gives us the glimpse of that light that will come

The light of the beginning -

That radiates goodness and truth

The light that breathes peace into chaos

The light that lets us see all of us and the best of us.