Is there light in pain and suffering? When the sun rises, light is obvious; when it sets and darkness descends, it seems as though light has disappeared. Yet life, like nature, moves in cycles of sunrise and sunset, of joy and pain. Chanukah reminds us that light can be born precisely from darkness. After desecration and destruction, when all seemed lost, a single pure flask of oil was discovered. That light was not despite the darkness, but because of it. There is an advantage to light that emerges from darkness—a depth and intensity that cannot exist without the night that precedes it.
I have seen that people who suffer can travel two very different paths. Some are understandably broken and bitter, their pain unresolved. But others transform their suffering into purpose. Their pain refines them, deepens their compassion, sharpens their sensitivity, and enables them to guide and uplift others. This light born of darkness is incomparable—more profound than even the most natural refinement. It is like moonlight after sunset: softer than the sun, yet possessing a beauty, intimacy, and mystery all its own. Life is indeed a cycle of day and night, joy and pain—but we are empowered to transform darkness into light and suffering into meaning. That, too, is the enduring message of Chanukah.
