According to the ancient Hebrew tradition,
At the very core of reality,
At the heart of our being,
Is a boundless primordial light.
This light is pointed to in the book of Genesis when it describes the very first act of creation.
Va yomer Elohim yehi or,
Va yehi or.
And God said,
Let there be light,
And there was light.
This first light of creation underlies the world of appearances that we perceive through our ordinary senses.
It is the original light out of which all appearances arise.
According to the mystics,
This light has three fundamental properties.
First,
Since this light is prior to the formation of time and space,
It is fundamentally dimensionless.
As such,
The ancient texts state that one who is able to experience this light can gaze from quote,
One end of the world to the other,
Close quote.
This is possible because this mysterious light is not bound by the usual limitations of time and space that we typically experience.
Second,
According to the ancient texts,
This primordial light is fundamentally benevolent and good.
Immediately following the creation of this light,
The Hebrew Bible states,
Va yare Elohim eta or ki tov.
And God saw that this light was good.
So this light is an expression of the basic goodness of reality.
The third property is that this light is hidden to ordinary perception.
This is why in everyday life we usually do not recognize this primordial light.
The Hebrew mystics therefore call this light the or haganuz in Hebrew,
Which means the hidden light.
This light,
The texts explain,
Is only accessible to those who do the necessary inner work to expose the inner light hidden within themselves and hidden beneath the surface layer of appearances.
So we see that this light is marked by three properties.
It is dimensionless,
It is good,
And it is hidden.
Let's explore this a bit more deeply.
There's an ancient text that states that the first human being openly experienced this dimensionless first light of creation for 36 hours before it became hidden.
The significance of this number 36 and its relationship to the first light is also alluded to in the Hebrew Bible itself,
Where the three main Hebrew words for a light,
The words nair,
And me'arot,
Appear a total of 36 times.
The number 36 is also significant in the teachings on the 36 hidden righteous people in the world.
According to this legend,
At any moment in time the world is sustained due to the presence of these 36 righteous beings that embody this hidden light of goodness.
The number 36 is also significant in the celebration of the ancient Hebrew holiday of Chanukah,
Because in this festival of lights a total of 36 candles are ritually lit over the course of eight days.
Since the Hebrew word Chanukah derives from the same Hebrew root that means to educate,
The mystics point out that Chanukah is thus really about educating and training ourselves to see the hidden primordial light of goodness that permeates everything,
That animates all of reality.
Thus,
The mystical message of Chanukah is that it is possible to once again experience the 36 timeless hours of dimensionless light that is revealed and exposed at the very core of creation.
Science creation,
Mystically speaking,
Is not something that occurred in the past,
But is occurring in each and every moment.
This primordial light of goodness can be accessed and experienced by each one of us,
Right here and right now.
All it takes is a subtle shift of our perception to remember the primordial ground of our consciousness,
To see the dimensionless light within which all phenomena are arising in each moment.
So,
While the primordial light of creation is typically obscured from view,
Since it is hidden in plain sight,
All we need is a slight shift of consciousness to wake up and see what is and always has been right in front of our faces.
Lighting a candle with the intention to invoke and experience this hidden light is a powerful practice that anyone from any background can do to invite this subtle shift of awareness.
So,
I invite you to check it out for yourselves.
Light a candle tonight or on any other night that you feel inspired to do so with the intention of revealing the hidden light of goodness that permeates all of creation,
That animates all of reality.
If you feel inspired,
You can add an additional candle each night for eight nights in a row,
Completing this magic number of 36 lights.
After lighting the candle or candles,
Softly gaze into the light with an openness to perceiving that which is hidden in plain sight,
With a receptiveness to being touched by the dimensionless spirit of the primordial light of creation.
If approached with sincerity,
The miracle of light can begin to openly shine through each one of us and slowly but surely,
Together,
We can illuminate the entire world.
