Three Candles: Building Bridges

In Rededication, a series for Chanukah by Rabbi Yael Levy, we are invited to notice the blessings and lift up the good.

Here is tonight’s teaching:

Three Candles: Building Bridges

On this third night of Chanukah, we lift up our values and ideals and the ways in which we long for our world to be healed. We name and honor people who work for justice. In the light of the candles we pray for the courage, wisdom and the willingness to reach across our differences and build bridges of connection for the sake of our nation and the world.

We rededicate ourselves to finding common ground.

From the mystery, the Holy One gazes upon humankind to see if there is someone who has the good sense to seek God in all. - Psalm 14:2

Practice: Blessing Meditation

Taking our seats, we set an intention to offer prayers for ourselves and nine other people creating a minyan of blessing within and around us.

Letting the attention rest on the breath, we begin with ourselves and say in our heart/mind:

May I be blessed with love,

May I be blessed with peace,

May I be blessed with well-being.


Then, bringing to awareness three people we love easily, we say to each of them in turn:

May you be blessed with love,

May you be blessed with peace,

May you be blessed with well-being.


Then we bring to awareness someone in our lives with whom there is some pain and need for healing and we say to this person:

May you be blessed with love,

May you be blessed with peace,

May you be blessed with well-being.


We then bring to heart/mind two people in the public sphere whose values and actions align with ours and say for each of them in turn:

May you be blessed with love,

May you be blessed with peace,

May you be blessed with well-being.

 
We then bring to heart/mind two people in the public sphere with whom we disagree on a political or social issue and say for each of them in turn:

May you be blessed with love,

May you be blessed with peace,

May you be blessed with well-being.


We call to awareness someone in our lives that we deeply appreciate and say for this person:

May you be blessed with love,

May you be blessed with peace,

May you be blessed with well-being.


We close the sit by saying:

May all beings be blessed with love,

May all beings blessed with peace,

May all beings blessed with well-being.


Action: Call

We call and offer thanks to an elected official who has taken stands that affirm our values and concerns.

We also call an elected official with whom we disagree and urge him/her to consider another point of view.

Here is a great rendition of Bob Marley’s One Love—It’s One Love around the world.

- Rabbi Yael Levy