As Chanukah begins this evening at sunset, the Argentar family took time to share the special meaning of the holiday this year:
Chanukah is celebrated for eight continuous nights as families light the menorah, sing songs, spin a dreidel, exchange gifts, and eat foods cooked in oil such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (donuts).
While Chanukah is not considered a major Jewish holiday, it is a beloved one celebrated by Jewish communities around the world.
Whether you and your family celebrate Chanukah, know someone who does, or are learning about Chanukah for the first time this year, there may be some beautiful Cove lessons for us all to learn from the holiday.
Chanukah focuses on what some people consider a miracle. Upon reaching their destroyed temple, the Maccabees found a small bit of oil to light their holy space. They thought it would only last one night. They lit it anyway, and the oil lasted for eight nights.
What if the Maccabees had underestimated what was right in front of them? How many of our students in the Cove Community have felt underestimated? Chanukah teaches us that only when we stretch our belief in what is possible will we have the opportunity to see our own full potential.
On each of the eight nights of Chanukah, we light an additional candle on the menorah. The ninth candle is called the shamash - it is known as a helper candle that lights the others. None of the other candles of the menorah can be lit without help from the shamash. The shamash teaches us that we all need helpers in our lives. At Cove, we work together as a team of professionals, together with our families, to benefit each child. As each night of Chanukah is brighter than the one before it, we learn that our light is most bright when we ask for help and work together.
Finally, as we find ourselves in what can feel like uncertain and sometimes scary times, Chanukah teaches us that darkness and uncertainty cannot be punched out with a fist or called out with a shouting voice. Instead, we create more light so that the darkness will disappear. If we all consider a small act of kindness we can do during this time as our way of creating more light, perhaps we will all find ourselves living in a world illuminated with goodness.
Wishing our Cove Community a season full of unlimited potential, bright light, and goodness!
- The Argentar Family
Thank you so much to the Argentar family for sharing the incredible parallels between this celebration of overcoming adversity and Cove School! Happy Chanukah to our community members lighting candles this evening and wishing our entire community a season filled with an abundance of light and gratitude.