No reason to fear anymore#Hanukkah#rabbigreene's weekly emai #ldevar Torah

When I was a teenager in high school, I was the first one up in my family.  I liked to eat a leisurely breakfast and read the newspaper before I got onto the school bus.  Especially during the winter months it was pitch black when I went to get the paper at the top of the driveway.  You should know that my home was situated on an acre of grass.  That meant that the mail box with the paper was a half an acre away from my front door.  Occasionally I would hear strange noises all around me.  Sometimes I would be so frightened that I would actually run back to the house! I was afraid until I was standing safely under a light by the front door. The scary darkness was dispelled by the light.

 When the Maccabbees arose against the Syrian Greeks, it was a dark time in Jewish history.  The pressures to assimilate and completely disappear were immense. The Maccabbees lit the Menorah in the Temple, symbolizing Gods light in our lives, to dispel the dark gloom which threatened to overwhelm them. They were victorious and there was no reason to fear any more.

 The psalmist understood the connection between fear and darkness, but he also knew that God is greater than those fears. He wrote, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness” (Ps. 91:5-6). Neither terrors of night nor evil in the darkness need to drive us to fear.

 We have the Hanukkah Menorah to remind us that even in the darkest of times we need not fear.  Perhaps you have seen or heard about the vandalism of the Chabad Hanukkiah on Union Turnpike and Heartland Avenue. Of course, we are upset, hurt, and very angry. Nevertheless, we should not be afraid. In the light of God’s love, salvation and truth, we can find courage, help, and strength to live as Jews unafraid.