“Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.”

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The Lighting of the Shabbat Candles by Rabbi Isaac Levy

Fri, 10/05/2007 - 23:41 — admin
The Jewish custom of lighting two candles for Shabbat goes back thousands of years. Each one of the candles represents part of the breast plate of the high priest that he wore called the Urim ve Tumim, which stands for "lights and perfection".

Today we continue the tradition in many Jewish and non-Jewish homes as a symbol that God is still looking to communicate with his people and is eager to establish an intimate relationship with each one of us individually.

The deeper meaning of lights and perfection has to do with relationships. The "lights" speak of how we are to treat each other as in "love your neighbor as your self". The "perfection" is about how we treat God as in "love God with all your heart, might, and soul".

If we fail to be a light to one another we will fail to perfect our relationship with our God. How do we expect to love God whom we have never seen, when we have trouble loving our neighbor who is made in the image of our Father who is in Heaven?

So when you light the Shabbat candles, remember why you are doing it?

Shalom,

Rabbi Isaac Levy

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