Chanukah: A Sample of His Light

The Baal Shem Tov offered the following analogy: A person comes into a store where they sell many types of delicacies and sweetmeats. The first thing the storekeeper does is to give the customer a sample of each kind, so that the customer should have an idea of what to buy. When he tastes it and sees how good it is, he wants to sample more. But the storekeeper then says, “You have to pay for anything you take. We do not give anything away for free.”

The “free sample” is the Light that a person feels when he first begins to draw close to God. Through this taste of His Light, the person can subjugate all evil, and return everything to the ultimate Good. This is a “free sample” given to the individual so that he should know the taste of serving God. A mark, or Reshimu of this remains after this Light is withdrawn, in order that he should know what to seek. (Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarna; Otzar HaChaim, Nasso)

Application: We can use the light of the Hanukkah candles as the “free samples, that we feel when we 1st begin to draw close to God. We should have it the intention to taste this Light, so it leaves its Reshimu, its mark on our souls, empowering us to successfully seek more of this Divine Light.