The Symbolism of Light in Judaism and Christianity

Rabbi Goldstein divided his talk into two main sections - the practical use of light in Jewish life and ritual, and the significance of light per se.

A Brief History of Hanukkah
During the annual Jewish festival of light known as Hanukkah, eight candles are held in a special candelabra, one candle being lit every night of the festival until, on the eighth day, all the eight candles are alight. King Antiochus tried to force his pagan religion on the Jews, and this was the catalyst which started the revolt which culminated when the Jewish guerrilla army, led by Judas Maccabeus defeated the Syrian armies of King Antiochus in 165 BCE. The importance of this historical event cannot be overemphasised because if the Jews had lost and been assimilated into the surrounding culture, there would be no Judaism and no Christianity today: defeat would have had a significant influence on the subsequent development of the western world.

So why are candles used in commemorating the victory of the Maccabean army? When the Maccabean army got to Jerusalem they found that the Syrians had desecrated the Temple. The Menorah - a seven branch lampstand - was the main feature of the Temple which the Jews had always kept alight as the "eternal" light. It had been extinguished by the Syrians and had to be rekindled. According to the legend there was only enough oil to keep the Menorah alight for one day, but a miracle happened and it stayed alight for eight days until they had the opportunity to get more oil. So the Jews rededicated the Temple and the eternal flame was rekindled. However, in 70 BCE the Temple was again destroyed and Bar Kokhba led an unsuccessful revolt against the Romans in 135, and there was terrible slaughter of the Jews. Many of the leading Rabbis of the time became pacifists. They didn't want to glorify war, and so they didn't emphasise the military victory over the Syrians as a story of Hanukkah but stressed God miraculously keeping the lamps alight for the eight days - a miracle God wrought not to save the people but to save the Jewish religion.

Originally the lamps were oil, but in the Middle Ages oil was superseded by candles. In the Jewish home the symbolism of light is used to mark the beginning and end of the Sabbath celebration by the lighting of candles and recitation of blessings. Another custom is to light a candle on the anniversary of a death as a reminder of the person who has died.

The Light of God's Presence
So the above are examples of the practice of using light in Jewish ritual, but what of light itself? The greatest use of the word "light" is found in the Psalms and in Isaiah. There are three main concepts - the light of day, the manifestation of God's presence, and that light which is God's blessings that can be given to human beings.

In Ecclesiastes the blessing of wisdom is seeing the light of God's face. The light shines for the righteous. In Isaiah, to the question of what the Hebrews should be, the answer is "I will set you as a light to the nations". There is the benediction "May God cause the light of his countenance to shine upon you"; therefore the light of God's face is the greatest of blessings.

In Genesis chapter 1 God said "let there be light", and there was light, and God saw that it was very good. So God created normal light - but there is also supernatural light, the light of God's presence.

The Rev Hillel took up this concept of light per se in the Jewish religion, and explained that it was also present in the Christian religion. It is portrayed in familiar Advent hymns such as "O Come O Come Immanuel" with its references to light and to Israel. Also in the Carol "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" there is reference to everlasting light.

A Brief History of Advent
Advent is the time before Christmas when Christians look forward to, and prepare themselves for, the coming of the Messiah into the world. Christians await the dawn of light which is the Christ child. A common practice in the home and church is to have an Advent wreath. Around the circumference of the wreath are 4 candles, one for each of the four Sundays of the Advent season, and one white candle in the middle.

On each Sunday of Advent one candle is lit. A common interpretation is that the first candle stands for the prophets like Isaiah, Hosea and others who look forward to the coming of the Messiah, interpreted by Christians as being Jesus. The second candle represents the last of the prophets, who in Christian tradition is John the Baptist. The third represents Mary the Mother of God, and the fourth symbolising all God's people. By the fourth Sunday of Advent (this year 23rd Dec) all four candles will be lit. On 25th December the fifth candle (white) will be lit symbolising Jesus as the light of the world coming into the world. A more recent development has been the holding of a Christingle service which is mainly for children. Familiar Christmas carols are sung, and an orange with a candle in the middle, and four sticks with sweets on them, are given to each child. The orange represents the world and the candle in the middle represents Christ as the light of the world.

So Christmas for Christians is a celebration of the light coming into the world. Jesus is seen as fulfilling Isaiah's oracle - "the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in the land of darkness, on them the light has shone".

Jesus as the Light
In what sense do Christians regard Jesus as the light? In Luke's gospel the ceremony of the presentation of Jesus in the Temple is described. Simeon says that Jesus is to be the light that reveals God to the gentiles, and to bring salvation and glory to Israel. For Christians Jesus is seen as the revealer of wisdom to the world - literally the Word of God made flesh who illuminates human minds with the knowledge of God.

The victory of the light of good over the darkness of evil is celebrated at Easter - the feast of the resurrection, when Christians remember Jesus who had put been put to death on Good Friday and, according to the Christian faith, raised from the dead on Easter Sunday.

Standing Together
The meeting was concluded with an invitation to the audience to come to the front of the church and stand together as Jews and Christians around a table where there was a Hanukkah candelabra and an Advent wreath. The Rev Laurence Hillel lit two candles on the wreath (as we were 2 weeks into the Advent season). His prayer was that the light of God would shine among us and foster understanding, tolerance and peace not only between our two religions, but among all mankind. Rabbi Andrew Goldstein then lit the candles in the Hanukkah candelabra and sung a Hebrew Blessing, which was followed by a Jewish hymn. Then both the Jewish and Christian members of the audience joined together in singing an English translation of a Jewish hymn which is traditionally sung at this time of the year. This provided a poignant end to what had been two very interesting talks.

- Bernard Tiley