Northern Flicker : The Hanukah Candle

This is a Northern Flicker. I was new to birds and photography both when I received this photo. I recall the anxious rush as I struggled to adjust the camera dials, to frame the image, to document this new species I was seeing in a clear and definitional way. I wanted that “textbook shot.” You can see that I failed in every way. Gloriously. This “failure” is one of my very favorite photographs. The colors, the motion, and the almost palpable tension in the bird’s launch remind me of something. Squint just a bit; look out the corner of your eye. When I do that, I see a living, exultant vision of a Hanukah candle.

Hanukah, the Festival of Lights, commemorates the miraculous duration of the sanctified oil used in the Temple. Today we light eight candles - “one for each night, they shed a sweet light, as they remind us of days long ago.” Talmud describes the debate between Hillel and Shamai: whether to start with one and count up or eight and count down. Hillel’s argument prevailed, because one elevates to higher levels of sanctity rather than downgrading. And the Sages taught the menorah should be sited to publicize the miracle, visible to all passersby. Each night the candles burn away, trading physicality for ethereal - yet ephemeral - joy.

But too, each night we replenish the candles - and add to them! - enhancing our capacity for joy and commemoration. Each year we recall not just the Maccabees’ ancient victory but also our own contemporary addition of celebrating another year in pride and strength. Each child in each family, each generation in Jewish history, is both a replenishment and a step towards higher sanctity. Oil and candles burn away, but the joy and inspiration they create burn eternally. My original intention for the Flicker’s photo was defeated, but I instead won this offering. Hanukah is equally a celebration of triumph over initial defeat.