Hanukkah Poems by Judith Felson, PhD
Darkest Night
Waste not this darkest night
Allow its indigo canopy to shelter
That which within is revealed…
The blackness of Gaza’s tunnels
Deepest pits of Joseph
Where terror and murder is hidden in
Troves of unrequited resentments
Seeded over millennia’s new moons…
Waste not this horror below
Embedded in our land and bodies,
Trauma demanding its redemption …
Waste not this darkest night…
Invite the searing pain to dig a pit,
So deep it seems to never end
Descend deeply to the base of terror
Look hatred, envy, separation in the eye,
See within the idols once made there,
Meant to snuff bright sparks to nothingness…
See that space, a channel, pit no more,
Instead a dwelling place for light…
On this darkest night
Terror put to rest by Truth…
Waste not this darkest night…
Illumine miracles not magic
Pit transformed to candles
Blessing of the darkest night…
Deepest pit is our menorah
Within that darkest depth
Our candles burning bright…
J. Felsen, Ph.D. 12/12/23
Brightest Night
Let not the sparkle of the candles
For this brightest night
Distract you from the essence
Of their Source
Remember Ein Sof, All that is All
Re-enter space where self is not
Allow the flames to merge with Oneness
In your mind and heart
A flicker of eternity in time
A symbol of the Truth of who we are…
An essence not vanquished,
Flame not extinguished
Love not limited,
Strength not diminished,
Life not ended,
Spirit not inhibited,
Hashem exalted through us…
We are those flames,
Connected, enduring, persevering…
Making the darkest nights
The brightest lights
In us, through us, from us
As we light the world
We are the menorah tonight…
J.Felsen, Ph.D. 12/13/23
Judith Felsen, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist, poet, mystic and member of BHC.