Chana Shapiro’s Chanukah Message for 2025

The Shamash Candle as a Metaphor

We’re all familiar with the progression of lighting the Chanukah menorah; however, we do not light the candles directly. We first light the “shamash,” the worker candle by which all the other candles for the eight nights are lit.

I think of the shamash as a useful metaphor. One candle is tasked with lighting the others, and as the eight nights progress, the shamash has a greater responsibility and a greater impact.

In these fraught times, we Jews seek a shamash. We are like candles waiting to be lit. How can we “be a light unto the nations” if we don’t shine? We need leaders who see all of us as one people, regardless of our affiliations or traditions.

The divisions among us are destructive in every way. Let’s follow only the leaders — rabbis, teachers, heads of organizations, social media influencers, people in power — who enLIGHTen us, who emphasize our peoplehood, the ones who teach us respect, the ones who don’t judge, disparage or make jokes about other Jews.

But if we can’t find a shamash who will light our flame, we can step up ourselves.

As the Talmud says, “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la zeh”: each of us is responsible for one another, a fundamental principle of our people. We are all connected. We are obliged to respect, show kindness, and help other Jews. We’re all in this together.

Chana Shapiro is an educator, author, and illustrator. She is a freelance writer for Atlanta Jewish Times.