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For the first time in four years I am celebrating Hanukkah in Israel and I am really moved. Each candle-lighting moves me. These are the long, dark days of the year – December. .jpg) I believe that this festival originates long before the war of the Maccabees as an ancient holiday symbolizing the war between light and darkness. That war is seen in so many movies and books; from my favorite book, "Never-ending Story", to Lord of the Rings, War of the Worlds, The Matrix and more. There is always that duality of darkness and light.
Religions also deal with the subject. For example, the religion, Zoroastrianism, which comes from Persia and is one of the influences on Judaism, believed in the power of duality, that the world is divided into two, light and dark. Believers worshipped fire. Or the Essenes, the sect that inhabited the caves of Qumran in the days of Jesus, which apparently was part of a secret Jewish sect, calling itself "The Sons of Light" and the rest of the world "The Sons of Darkness". It is not for no reason that the birth of Jesus is celebrated at this time of year. Those who believe in him and follow him see him as bringing light to the world.
All of us know this place between light and darkness, in which we are drowning in our own darkness, out of pain, jealousy or suffering, hatred and separation, sudden light emerges that takes us out of the darkness and we return to ourselves.
Choose Light
What is the moment of encounter between darkness and light? Nelson Mandela said: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us." Maybe these days give us an opportunity to look at the darkness inside us and find the light within.
As a mediator in a business framework, peacemaking and leading projects in the Middle East I have heard many people say: It's true there’s a lot of light in the world, but the darkness is more powerful - wars, suffering, poverty and pain. And I say it's a matter of perspective and where you focus. Today the world media focuses and chooses to show the darkness. For years I thought it was the main guilty party, but now I realize that it is a cycle. The viewers demand it, and if the media choose to show good news, they will get a lower rating. This has been proven.
People want to see action, war and blood. It is a bit like eating spicy food: the more you eat, the spicier you want it. The spice burns the cells on the tongue and to really enjoy it, you need to have more and more. Does the same thing happen with darkness? (Do not get me wrong, I like spicy food, I love the night and here I am referring to the term "darkness" as something negative).
Is it possible to change it? Yes. Choose light and banish the darkness. I do not know if I can change the world, but I know I can change my world. And I am a whole world - each of us is a whole world. If in our own world we focus on the light and spread it, the light will prevail. Light attracts light.
Light Unites
Every year on December 21st we witness the longest night of the year. For several years I mark this night in a special ceremony: a ceremony we were given by a medicine man from Peru, in which we light a fire and eighty other fires are lit around the world at the same time. The fire brings light and healing to the earth, the very land we live on that nourishes us, births us and dies with us.
A few days ago we celebrated it again: a few Israelis, a few Palestinians, basically friends. A dark night, on a high mountain and one light, the bonfire. There, around that light, there was no space for darkness, and we two peoples embroiled in conflict, found an opening to unite around healing the earth and the need to celebrate light in the knowledge that the cure for our pain is situated in light.
In 2009 I visited Jordan as part of a musical project that I lead. It was December, just days before the beginning of "[Operation] Cast Lead". We sat in a charming house built of stone and wood in a green garden in the village, not far from the Dead Sea. A group of Jordanian and Israeli musicians lighting Hanukkah candles together. A sense of unity filled us all because the light unites; light makes you see; it contains warmth and truth. It was a moment of sowing seeds, a pact between friends. The seed sprouted and strengthened us through the many difficulties experienced by the whole region, and it was thanks to the light.
That Hanukkah I made a decision to spread the light further: If you always concentrate on the darkness - and there is plenty of it in any newspaper, website and media and unfortunately, almost every house – we do not allow ourselves the opportunity to gaze and face the light. It is all a matter of deciding. There is so much sorrow in the world and so much beauty in the world, so what shall we choose?
"There be no victory of light over darkness until we understand the simple truth, that instead of fighting the darkness we must intensify the light" (A.D. Gordon)
Translation: Toni Baum
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Lee Ziv works in reconciliation in the Middle East, especially through music. She produces, writes, is a project leader, tour guide and mediator between people and cultures thanks to a lot of hope. Lee is one of the founders of the project "Musaique".
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