On Wednesday evening, Chabad hosted a Jewish Women’s Circle event at I Panted That! social art studio. Here are some of the thoughts I shared with my fellow painters about the image we painted together.
This week the Jewish world is learning about the story of Abraham our forefather. He was the revolutionary trailblazer that discovered G-d on his own at the young age of three. Instead of keeping the news to himself, he risked his life to enlighten anyone he can reach and ultimately became the forefather of Jewish nation.
In the course of the biblical narrative of his life and accomplishments we find that his wife Sarah was of equal righteousness, prominence and courage. In fact, the Chassidic masters teach that the impact Avraham had on the world was only due to the unique qualities of Sarah. She was his partner in all of his endeavors to bring the knowledge of G-d to the world.
The Talmud relates, that Sarah would light candles to usher in the Shabbat. Miraculously, these flames would continue to glow until the next Friday afternoon. Upon her passing this miracle ceased – even though Avraham continued the custom each week. When Yitzchak married the righteous Rivkah, this weekly miracle resumed with her Shabbat candles.
The mitzvah of kindling the Shabbat candles is symbolic of the role of the Jewish woman to illuminate her home with love and warmth. As Shabbat approaches, bringing pause to the hectic and mundane realities of life – the Shabbat candles shed light on the accomplishments of the past week and beacon forth a bright week to come. Shabbat reminds us that everything we do should be motivated by a sense of mission to serve G-d, and ultimately result in fostering more goodness and kindness in our families, communities and the entire world.
You will notice that there are three candles in the sketch. It is customary for married women to kindle two Shabbat candles. The third, shorter candle is for the daughter. The Rebbe encouraged young girls, from the age of three, to join their mothers in ushering in Shabbat by lighting a candle of their own – obviously with mom’s assistance. The educational implications are enormous. This is not only a way to train the child into the mitzvah. Her current action as a young girl, before Bat Mitzvah, already has immediate results. She has made her home a brighter place and as a result the entire world is better off than before.
The third candle represents the unbroken chain of every Jewish woman linked through our long and glorious history – directly to Sarah and Rivkah – the mothers of the Jewish people.
Learn more about the mitzvah of lighting Shabbat candles here.
