Candle Lighting Reflections

Friday afternoon rolls around and I unplug my phones, shut down my computer and as I light the Shabbat candles and welcome the holy day of rest, I suddenly find myself connected...

In the endless conflict between earth and spirit, sheer weight often wins out. Shabbat is a reunion with our inner selves, a return to the primal oneness of our souls

She strikes the match,
Her concentration as intense as the flame.
As the candle wicks flare
Her heart fills with joy.

Suddenly I saw a kaleidoscope-like view of all the individual candles, but they were no longer individuals. Each flame had burst into a circle of light, glowing within itself while extending outward...

"Tell me honestly, don't you ever feel Orthodoxy is unfair in its treatment of women? Aren't the Rabbis degrading to women?"

One of the lights Mother kindled each Friday night was for me. The full impact of this message did not occur to me until many years later...