The last light

On the last night of Chanukah I lit all eight lights. Most of the flames burned a white-yellow light and stood tall. A couple of the flames were tiny blue-white/yellow and barely visible.

I figured those miniscule flames would burn the required time and snuff themselves out.

I figured wrong…look what I found 15 hours later!

The size of the flame did not seem to correlate with the length of the time the wick burns. The size did not seem to mean that the flame would die out quickly.

What did I learn from this?

• Burn – create – at a fixed pace.
• Regardless of the size of my flame, face up.
• Keep that upward movement steady.
• Never give up hope!

And that’s the message of the last light – the last night of Chanukah…never give up hope!

Resolve to remember that there is never a reason to give up hope. Even after Chanukah has ended, its light can be found at all times and in all places, if we make the effort to find it.

—36 Candles: Chassidic Tales for Chanukah, Libi Astaire, p. 20