נר יהוה נשמת אדם

 נר יהוה נשמת אדם

God's candle is the soul of man

Our older son sent us this photo this morning with the header "First Night in Ashkelon".

Every year when I light Chanukah candles I take photos, sometimes of the people joining us that night but more often of the flames.  In an oddly primitive way it feels as if I am taking photos of the souls of the people who have joined me that night.

I was so touched that I woke up to this photo in my inbox. It made my son feel so close despite the physical distance.

Tonight it was just

the two of us lighting together. We own a collection of Chaukiyot. This year we each chose the one that feels most like an Ur- Chanukiya. My husband chose the chrome Chanukiya that his parents used when he was little. I chose to use the antique Eastern European Chanukiya my parents found in a Quincy antique store. The owner of the store had no idea what it was . My parents spotted it in the window of the store during a Shabbat afternoon walk.  My parents came back after Shabbat was over to make the purchase. I remember my parents coming home giddy because they had found such a treasure in such an unexpected place.

Tonight we sang the blessing and  much of the playlist of songs that we have sung year after year when all of our kids lived with us. Both of our heads were simultaneously in the past and in the present.