The Sparks Within

Rebbe Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, more commonly knows as the Sfas Emes, was one of the brilliant souls and minds of Chassidism. Born in 1847, he served as the 2nd Rebbe of the town of Ger. He once wrote:

Every Jew is blessed with an inner spark that never wavers in its commitment to Hashem. No matter how assimilated the Jew may appear to be, an inner spark endures that always remains pure. Through hoda'ah, gratitude to Hashem, this pristine spark survives intact, and the Jew is able not only to retrieve but also to expand the influence of this spark.

Reflecting the same thought, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) wrote:

One single spark, loyally treasured in but one single Jewish heart, is sufficient for God to set aflame once more the whole spirit of Judaism. And if all the oil, if all the forces that were to have preserved the light of God in Israel, were to be misused for the light of paganism-- even then, one little crucible of oil, one heart which, in a forgotten hidden corner, imprinted with the high priest's seal, has faithfully remained untouched and undefiled, this one crucible is sufficient to become the salvation of the entire sanctuary, when the right time and hour has come. "And even though all countries were bowed in obedience to Antiochus, if every man forsook the land of his fathers and assented to the king's command, even then, I and my sons and brothers will not forsake the laws of our fathers"-- thus spoke the loyal Hasmonean heart of one single hero advanced in years-- and Israel's sanctuary was saved....

And if you, yourself, were the only one who still preserved the spirit of the Maccabees in his home, remember that one single Jew, one single Jewish home is ultimately in itself sufficient to serve as foundation for the reerection of the entire Jewish sanctuary.

We have been dampened, reduced in numbers by force of arms and the designs of evil men. The situation today has not changed. And yet the sparks, the lights of Chanukah will increase over the course of this week, casting their light into the darkness, and hopefully, causing every Jew who sees these lights to remember who they are, why they are here, in whom they should put their trust, and to remember the spark within; the spark that never wavers.