The Shikkeredovid was musing about Hanukkah while looking at the candles last night. The Shikkerdovid would like to throw an idea out to the world. The Rabbis teach us that fire was created Saturday night after the first shabbat. This means it was the 8th day from Creation. On the 8th day, Hashem created fire and man harnessed fire for his uses. We know that in Judaism- “8” represents beyond the natural world order or “mala men ha teva.”

We use fire to represent this ‘above nature” aspect of our lives. In our practice, we usher in holiness with fire ( fri afternoon candles) and we usher out holiness (Sat Night havdala candle). Fire is a “bridge” between holiness and profane. Like 8 it is beyond the physical world. Furthermore, fire is not really a “physical entity”. Its there- but not there. We can’t weight it like a donut, but we can measure its energy. The physical characteristics of fire (to the non scientific Shikkerdovid) are a bridge between the physical world and non physical world.

The thought on this last day of Hanukka- the 8th day, is really that while we perceive the physical world, there is also a great spiritual world. Hanukka is the bridge. Hanukka is the time of year where we recognize that there is a world of presents, chanukah gelt, greasy donutes and latkes, but underlying all this is the greater spiritual realm of existence. Our goal is to find that bridge. Use the last moments of Hanuhkka and fire of the candles to find your bridge between the physical world and spiritual world.