As the days get shorter and the nights longer in the runup to the winter solstice, Judaism is of course not the only religious tradition that focuses on adding more light. The practical need to provide more light when the world gets darker carries with it a deep, human, spiritual truth. When we face dark times in the world, it can be our impulse to withdraw, to hide ourselves, thinking that the light we carry can never overcome the darkness that threatens to overcome us. Lighting lights can help us to see that we need to let the the light in our souls out, to show others that it is ok to light up the world, to push back the darkness with the light. As the Hanukah song teaches, Kol ehad hu or katan, v’chulanu or eitan — “Each of us is just a tiny light, but together we can make a powerful light.” Let us light up the darkness together.