On the last night of Hanukkah, a meditation on the flame and the human soul
“A flame is never stagnant."
On the last night of Hanukkah Sunday, in front of a 32-foot-tall menorah towering over Copley Square, Rabbi Mayer Zarchi described the lit flames atop menorahs across the world as representative of human souls.
“A flame is never stagnant,” said Zarchi, of Central Synagogue Boston. “It’s never paralyzed. There’s always motion and movement. It’s always swaying and dancing, kissing heaven, licking the air. In many ways, that represents our lives, which are always in a state of motion and movement.”
Soon after sunset, Zarchi and his wife, Chenchie Zarchi, got on two separate bucket lifts with elected officials, including Governor Charlie Baker and City Councilor Kenzie Bok, and lit the menorah, passing a long torch between the lifts so they would all get the chance to ignite the flames. On the opposite side of Kenmore Square, a Boston Fire Department truck extended its ladder and dropped small sacks of gelt, chocolate coins traditionally eaten on Hanukkah, onto the crowd.
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