Fran Putney’s Chanukah Message for 2025

As the Maccabees taught us, some things are worth fighting for. They fought for freedom and the right to reclaim the Holy Temple. In our day, the eight days of Chanukah can serve as a reminder that sometimes inner and communal strength are needed for change. What’s important to each of us? What’s important to all of us? What kinds of changes are worth fighting for to make our world a better place?

This year when we light the Chanukiah, let the brightness of the candle flames, increasing each night, remind us that complacency may be the path of least resistance, but often won’t bring us closer to what is right and just in our lives or in our communities. Let the light offer hope for whatever each of us envisions for the future – for ourselves, our families, the greater good. Truly see it.

And let the energy of the flames be an inspiration for the ways in which each of us commits to personally take action to make those visions of hope come to pass. As our tradition teaches, even small actions can make a big difference in repairing the world.

Wishing everyone a warm, beautiful and inspirational Chanukah. Chag sameach!

Fran Putney is the Proofreader and Writer for Atlanta Jewish Times.