Fire

The menorah, its lamps, and the flames they hold are the very mirror of our identity as a people, the way we interact with each other, and of the elemental strivings of the human soul

We "raise" our children, "climb" the ladders of our careers, "rise" to life's occasions, think "highly" of people we admire, "aspire" to high ideals, regard "heaven" as representative of all that is good and "lofty". Why all this uppity talk?

As anyone who has ever battled a coal barbeque or labored to start a campfire without fire-starters or kerosene would attest, there is more to kindling than just holding a match to the fuel