To Light Up the Doorways

The days of Chanukah are days of light. Rabbi Shagar teaches that gazing at the light of the candles washes over our consciousness and allows it to open up to a wealth of images, feelings and thoughts. This range of illuminations took shape for him as teachings and sermons.

The sermons and essays in this book reflect a tapestry of insights and illuminations that accompanied Rabbi Shagar during the days of Chanukah, and together they form a kind of complete structure of these days. The various elements that make up Chanukah – the light, the candle, the miracle, the lighting at the doorway, and above all the relationship between “inside” and “outside” and between Torah and Greek wisdom – allow him to discuss questions of religious identity, providence, the meaning of miracles and the duty of thanksgiving, and even to clarify a proper attitude to the academic world. They also serve as a basis for new religious possibilities. Beyond the content itself, a new world of interpretation opens before the reader, who is introduced to Rabbi Shagar’s unique ability to “translate”.

Rabbi Shagar builds his teaching from deep readings of biblical verses, the Midrash of the Sages, the Rishonim, the great Hasidic masters, the thought of Rabbi Kook and even popular Chanukah songs. All of these are woven into a meaningful dialogue with modern and postmodern thinkers. This fascinating whole allows him to raise fundamental religious questions again and again, while offering new and surprising possibilities.