As we were winding down the Chanukah Playland I received a message from a rabbinical student named Mendel. He is part of a group of six young men hired by Chabad of Texas Towns to bring the joy of Chanukah to remote Jewish communities and individuals across our great state. Their RV is outfitted with everything needed for such celebrations, including a giant menorah they set up in malls to host public parties.
On Sunday they were in Odessa, Texas and after setting up the tall menorah in the shopping mall, they fanned out to find some Jews with whom to share menorahs, dreidels, and latkes. Mendel encountered two Middle Eastern fellows excited to tell him about their many Jewish friends and acquaintances. In the middle of their conversation, they video-called an Israeli friend who used to live in the area and introduced him to Mendel.
“Avi, do you have a menorah for Chanukah?” Mendel asked. “No,” he replied. “And I’m not sure where to get one tonight. I’m driving now and will be in El Paso in a few hours.” Mendel immediately contacted me to arrange for Avi to get his menorah to do the mitzvah for the rest of the four nights of Chanukah. After some logistical arrangements, Avi left my home a few hours later with a menorah, candles, and a plate of schnitzel - and I was once again reminded of the powerful “web of light” the Rebbe gifted to the world with the global Chabad Lubavitch network and the fifty-year-old Chanukah campaign. Since 1974 the mitzvah of menorah lighting and the Chanukah message have permeated the public square with giant menorah displays and reached the homes of countless Jews who would have otherwise forgotten about this holiday entirely. By now, there is hardly a location on the map where a Jew cannot somehow access the tools he or she needs to fulfill this crucial mitzvah of light. As we pack away our menorahs, let us remember the message of ever-increasing light and utilize every opportunity to perform more mitzvot and encourage and facilitate others' doing so as well. Ultimately, the world will be filled with the divine light of all our combined mitzvot, with the arrival of Moshiach, who will usher in an era of true peace and tranquility for all.