 Hanukkah
honors the house. It is the Maccabees' renowned rededication of the House,
the House of Holiness, the Beit Hamikdash. It is the lighting of the fire
in the heart, the hearth, the home of a People.
Hanukkat
Habayit is the celebration of settling into a new home, a housewarming
party of a sacred sort. It's as if with every move to a new house we celebrate
a miniature Hanukkah. For each home is the manifestation of the Holy Temple
in our times, in our own lives. Thus our four walls call for a Hanukkah
— a dedication —
the lighting of the fire that warms and sanctifies ou space.
And Hanukkah's
lighting of house is no less than the illumination of the inner Self.
For the Self, with her secret stairways, her observing windows, her half-closed
doors, is a many-storied home, the abode of the soul.
Our task
on these eight nights is to rededicate the Temple, in our own times, in
our own lives; each night illumines a new aspect of self, lighting a new
alcove of our inner House of Holies.
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HINNENI
MUCHAN UM'ZUMAN / I AM READY
(to be recited before lighting the candles)
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I am ready to light the first (second, etc) candle of Hanukkah and
here I stand ready to rededicate myself to achieve higher levels
of personal holiness and illumination in a world of shadows. Tonight's
candle is dedicated to _________________.
(Enter
your own value for the whole family or ask each person to dedicate
it to their own personal value).
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