Are you a wick or a flame?

Are you a wick or a flame?

“Neither,” is probably what you’re thinking. A wick and a flame have to do with a candle - what’s that got to do with me?

Man can be compared to a candle (see Proverbs 20:27); specifically, the wick refers to the survival instinct, our physical side and the flame refers to our ability to transcend, our spiritual side.

A healthy balance includes both aspects, physical and spiritual. Investing in our physical side while ignoring our spiritual dimension is not beneficial, and neither is the flip-side good for us.

But here’s the catch - by nature we are more in tune with our physical side and give it the priority. Our spirit tends to get neglected and that leads to imbalance in our lives. A feeling of emptiness or that there’s “too much going on,” never being able to get “on top of it,” are all related to this imbalance.

We need to invest in our spirit by adding in “transcendent” activities; an extra mitzvah, caring for another person. Transcendence means being outwardly focused; instead of looking for what we need, looking what we are needed for. And when we’ve incorporated this extra step into our lives and it becomes part of our regular schedule, it’s time to add another. This is the lesson of the Chanukah lights, we begin with one but we are never satisfied - we constantly grow.