Never despair

One candle is enough to illuminate the pitch-black darkness. King Solomon compared the candle to the human soul. Thus, the Chanuka candles can teach us a lot about our inner selves.

Despair and depression are darkness. Judaism - particularly the Chanuka holiday - teaches that there is no room for despair and depression in the Jewish lexicon. There's always hope. The Gemorra teaches that even if a sharp knife is resting on your throat, don't despair - trust in Hashem's magnificent and merciful lovingkindness.

The Yetzer Hora, or Evil Inclination, wants you to lose hope. He doesn't want you to believe that redemption can be right now, at any minute, and that Moshiach is right around the corner. By convincing you that the Jewish notion of eagerly anticipating the Geula is false and ridiculous, he eventually convinces you that all of Torah is false and ridiculous, G-d forbid.

On the contrary, when a doctor tells an expectant mother that she must abort, that's false and ridiculous. When a person is told that he or she has a terminal disease, that's false and ridiculous. The light of a Chanuka candle - which the holy Ariza"l says is symbolic of emuna, or faith - carries a person above the clutches of nature. Torah, Teshuva, and prayer do the same. A soldier can be pinned down, with no logical way out; yet, Hashem has solutions. Never despair, or the ballgame's over. Put your Zoloft down, and pick up a Book of Psalms. Let the light of King David's eternal and universal words light up your soul.

Many of us are scarred from life in this cold and empty world, where few care about nothing other than a greenback or their next cheap thrill. Yet, if a wounded soldier stops shooting, he's finished; if he transfers his rifle from his wounded right arm to his healthy left arm, he can continue fighting and ultimately triumph.

Be happy! Eat some latkes and play draidel with your children. Don't succumb to depression; depression won't put money in the bank - faith in Hashem will! Let Chanuka brighten your life.

Illustration courtesy of my wonderful friends at www.chabad.org - if you'd like to know more about the story of Chanuka or Chanuka customs, pay them a visit.

Don't be discouraged by anything. If you don't surrender to the Yetzer, you might be the person that changes the world, like Yehudit did. Light your candles and ponder them; open up your soul to Hashem's light. Once you really do, you'll be healthy and happy, and you won't need the shrink or his nasty little pills any more.

Our sages teach that as long as the candle is burning, there's always hope. Never despair, no matter what your seemingly insurmountable problem is. Rebbe Nachman of Breslev says, יש ענין שיתהפך הכל לטובה - everything could turn itself around for the better in the nearest future. Just like the few Maccabees who remained faithful to Hashem and to His Torah, you might be outnumbered by a massive enemy too. But, if you learn from those little flickering Chanuka candles that defeat the darkness, you'll be a winner too. Jews are used to being the underdogs - we thrive on come-from-behind and against-all-odds victories and watching the tyrants of the world crumble.

The Jewish people are sometimes down, but never out. The tiny flames of Chanuka always lift us out of the dark abyss.

Don't despair. Don't ever lose faith. Salvation is on the way, for sure.

Happy Chanuka.