Make ’em Shine! Being a Shamash
Kevin Levin, Latin America Jewish Educator & Faustine Sigal International Director, Jewish Education
Be it on ugly sweaters, Rugrats episodes or tacky GIFs, the eight Hanukkah candles classically get all the attention. Yet, there’s one unsung hero that is always there but rarely named: the shamash. Shamash literally means “servant” or “helper” in Hebrew and is the extra candle whose initial flame serves to light all the others each night of Hanukkah. It serves no halachic role or symbolism, contrary to the eight candles who each represent a day when the oil miraculously lasted in the post-destruction Temple. Yet, its steadfast presence is what enables us to tell the story of the other eight candles and to perform our ritual with our communities.
Last weekend, a group of close to 30 community builders from all over Europe gathered outside of Paris for a Jewish learning retreat called “Holiday of Lights in the City of Lights.” Given the current climate, our priority was to consult with the local community and police to ensure that we were doing all the right things to keep our participants safe. But we also knew that the current events meant that this retreat, addressing the power of light in times of darkness, would be uniquely meaningful to all of us. And it was – exploring texts from all ages, spaces and opinions of Judaism, crafting candles and dreidels, singing our ways through Kabbalat Shabbat all felt slightly more important this time than during normal times.
One of the concepts we explored is that of serving as a shamash for our communities. We read an article by Sarah Himeles, which she concludes with these inspiring words:
“Just like the shamash candle gives light to many other candles
without being diminished, when we give tzedakah,
we spread light to those in need and even shine more brightly ourselves.”
One of Moishe House’s longtime friends and supporters made a generous gift to Moishe House to create this retreat in memory of her beloved parents. Our donor shared with us that while her parents did not receive a formal Jewish education themselves, they enabled her to thrive as a Jew through the values they embodied in their daily lives and their dedication to her living a joyful, committed Jewish life with her husband and children. They had been shamashim to her, using their light to help her create her own. And she, through her gift, was being a shamash to our community builders by creating space for learning and exploring the traditions of Hanukkah. At our retreat, we shared this with our participants and helped them realize that as community builders, they were in practice being shamashim, flames who empower their respective communities and their individual community members. We invited participants to think of people who had served as shamashim to their Jewish journey and heard moving stories of parents and grandparents, fellow residents and public figures.
The specific beauty of the metaphor of a flame for community building is that contrary to a cake for example, when a person shares it, they don’t subtract from the strength or the size of the initial resource. This is the miracle of the shamash candle and of community building: sharing it with others makes us stronger. The more light we can share with others, the brighter we will all shine together.
This Hanukkah, we invite you to honor the shamashim – and the “shamashness” in your life:
- Who has been your shamash in your journey of Jewish learning and leadership? Can you think of a way to express gratitude to them (be it directly or doing something to honor their values)?
- Who have you been a shamash to since last Hanukkah?
- Who do you want to be a shamash to this year – and how can you take the first step to make that happen?
