Merry Christmas - Seasons Greetings

It isn’t so often when Chanukah and Christmas (or, at least, the Western Christmas) come together. Of course, Christmas is a major Christian celebration, while Chanukah, for Jews, is a minor festival. Still, the two share something important in coming, as they do in the Northern hemisphere, around the time of the winter solstice. In both of our traditions, we are celebrating the triumph of light over darkness.

I would like to partially quote and partially paraphrase something our dear friend and colleague, Professor Peter Pettit, of Muhlenberg College, wrote:

” Dare to believe that there is light in the world and that it will prevail over the darkness.  And on the eve of an unnoticed birth in a lean-to behind a public inn in a market town, dare to believe that great things can be drawn forth from the most humble and unpromising of starts.  The sadness and tragedy of much of life cannot be wished or willed away, but it need not set the standard for our expectations, nor blind us to hope and promise. I take much hope from the promises of tentative beginnings already being realized in the work…” that we do and the relationships with which we have all been blessed -- through friendship and collegiality. “And so I join the angels in singing, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth -- peace!”

And to that I can add only “Amen!”

 

Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy and blessed holiday season.

 

Debbie Weissman