It’s on its way. The weekend that never has enough Sundays. There is so much you want to accomplish on any given Sunday, or in the reverse, so much relaxing you want to catch up on. Yet on this particular Sunday that’s not happening! Because that, all important, event takes precedence.
You need to show up where ever it is happening. You need to see family that you may or may not want to see. And of course you must have gifts, dreidels, and latkes in tow.
Yes -The family Chanukah party is upon us. But it’s not that simple. People do not switch off locations like with other holidays. They need to make it to both. There is his side and your side to go to, but, then there are all the cousins who need to be at their 2 sides. So how do you find a time that works for everyone?! And then there are those, who between all the hoopla, want to stop back home and light their candles there too.
The grease is flowing. Every teen’s face is dreading it. Bertolli, Wesson and Idaho though, are ecstatic. Their profits are soaring. The Nexium and Tums producers are elated too. Their sales triple in that one week.
As you go through the streets there’s a flickering in every few window. It’s physically subtle. But spiritually there’s a strong message. You cannot defeat us. We will always be reignited. We do not rest on our laurels, we live to grow. Each night you get this message for eight days straight. Well you know -That’s in our DNA -We like to drive a point home!
Inside there is singing. There is bonding. There is – “hey that’s my menorah”. “Watch her hair!” “This is real fire! Don’t hold the Shamish so close to your brother’s head!” Well, you can’t expect miracles – siblings will be siblings. Wait did I just say that? This is the holiday that tells us miracles are possible!
Ok, talking miracles, I give it to you, some are more blatant than others! But if you really think about it – everything is a miracle. You rub some substance and fire appears. You toss some little particles in the ground and food appears. And – You blend some potatoes, eggs, and onions together and voila, the most addictive pancake emerges….
I’ve seen their power. People try to avoid eating them. But still they slide their way over to you and slip down your throat anyway. Such is the power and appeal of the latke. They are unavoidable!
The miracle would actually be resisting them!
There’s a little toy we employ that spins on its axis and makes us feel like life’s just chance. But that’s only true with a toy spun by us. When it comes to the master spinner, well, that’s a different dreidel game. Where it falls, may look arbitrary to us, but there’s a master plan behind it all.
Yet – Unfortunately, since the master spinner is so busy running the world, he/she has no time to coordinate Chanukah parties, so they all seem to collide.
Therefore, I wish you – Good luck making or getting to all of yours. If it works out in some cool, calm manner and you get to all of them peacefully -that usually takes a miracle. So here’s hoping it does. And guess what – that’s just another possible miracle of this holiday!
Here’s praying big miracles come your way.
Happy Chanukah!
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com<mailto:rivki@rosenwalds.com