Festivals of Light
Through his retelling of a Hassidic Tale, Martin Buber teaches us that knowledge is considered wisdom only when it is shared.
By Rabbi David Leitner Cohen
Many cultures in the northern hemisphere brighten their cold winters with a festival of lights. In the Jewish tradition, the holiday of Hanukkah commemorates the liberation of Jerusalem from heathen armies who had defiled the Holy Temple with pagan rites. In order to re-dedicate the Temple as the dwelling of the divine Presence, it had to be purified by lighting its candelabra for eight-days. Alas, there was only enough sacred oil for one day. Nevertheless, through the grace of the divine spirit, the oil lasted for the required eight days. Hanukkah celebrates the miraculous rekindling of the divine light, which is meant to illuminate our lives dedicated to the service of God.
The significance of light in the Jewish tradition extends beyond Hanukkah. Martin Buber's compilation of Hassidic stories "Hidden Light," published in Hebrew in 1946, includes a tale that reflects on the story of the first, primordial light from the Book of Genesis: When God began to create heaven and earth, the earth was unformed and void, with darkness covering the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the waters. God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good and separated it from the darkness.
In the Hasidic tale, a dialogue takes place between the Talmudic sage Rabbi Eliezer and his disciples. Rabbi Eliezer is reported to have told them: “The light with which God graced the first day of Creation allows Him to view all of the life of the world from its beginning to its end.” He goes on to explain that the light allowed God thus to see “the evil deeds of the people of the generation of the Flood and the tower of Babylon.” And as a punishment for those evil deeds, “God has kept the light from them.”
In response, the disciples pose a series of questions to their Rabbi, beginning with: “And for whom has He kept the light?” to which Rabbi Eliezer answers: “The righteous ones in the days to come.” They then ask where God has hidden the light, and he replies that it is in the Torah. They ask if the righteous ones will find some of that light when they study the Torah, and Rabbi Eliezer nods, saying that they will indeed find the divine light in the study of His Word. The sages then ask one final question: "What will the righteous ones do with the light revealed to them through the study of the Torah?" Rabbi Eliezer declares that they will reveal the divine light further through the way they live their lives.
The story begins with a light that enables one to fully see the abiding manifestation of God’s providential presence in the created order and in His Torah that God initially hides from humanity. That divine light is hidden in the Torah and revealed to the righteous in its study. The story carries a caveat: knowledge of God’s knowledge, as revealed in the Torah, does not render one a righteous person if that knowledge remains “hidden” within one’s inner mental chambers. According to Rabbi Eliezer, in order to gain its fullness, that divine knowledge or “light” must be shared with others through one’s conduct in the world beyond the study halls of the synagogue.
Buber's account of the story of the "hidden light" teaches us that the knowledge gained by learned men and women is considered wisdom only when they serve as examples of divine righteousness in their daily interactions with their fellow human beings. When our conduct shines with the righteousness of the divine light, we may spark that light in others.
Rabbi David Leitner Cohen
Rabbi David Leitner Cohen is currently a PhD candidate of History of Judaism at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His research focuses on the reception of German Idealism in modern Jewish thought. Previously, he earned his M.A. in religion studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. David received his Semichah, Rabbinical ordination, from Kollel Chuikm Chakhamim in Jerusalem.
