We are approaching Chanukah, a holiday we celebrate in the heart of winter, during the shortest and darkest days of the year. The work of this holiday lies in the commandment to light a small candle, to pray, and to connect to the light in our lives. The candle has a special time when it is lit. The Gemara states: “From when the sun sets until people are no longer walking in the marketplace” (Shabbat 21b), referring to the time when there are no longer people traveling along the paths.
I reflected on the foot hinted at here, subtly present. At first glance, it seems unrelated to Hanukkah. What role does it play, beyond being a time marker? Typically, we encounter the foot with much greater intensity: “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: from the wilderness and the Lebanon, from the river—the Euphrates—to the western sea shall be your territory” (Deuteronomy 11:24). The foot represents forward movement, conquering, and establishing ownership.
But we ascend from the foot upward, and the foot transforms into speech:
“Who has no slander upon his tongue, who has done his fellow no harm, nor cast disgrace upon his neighbor” (Psalms 15:3) which is in Hebrew also a reference to a foot, “לא רגל על לשונו”. These words of praise describe the innocent and upright person. We can explore and renew through the foot, but we can also destroy through speech.
The foot symbolizes movement and action. A person moves with their feet, changing the world through their deeds. They bear the responsibility to ignite light in their world or to bring darkness. In a single moment, they can step forward and build—or, conversely, gossip about others and deepen the darkness.
Chanukah is the holiday that allows us to add light—precisely at the moment when there are no longer feet in the marketplace, when there is no movement, only darkness and gloom. At such a moment, despair may creep in, along with difficulty and obscurity. Yet precisely then, we have the ability to continue moving forward, to add light, to believe in our choice and our ability. Even the smallest movement we make can illuminate.
Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach – Peaceful Shabbat and Happy Chanukah!
Rena Ariel, is a Jewish educator, leader, and role model for many in Israel and around the world. She is the mother of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, whose tragic loss to terrorism has further inspired Rena to promote initiatives that emphasize unity, faith, and the sanctity of life in the Land of Israel.
