Are you going up or going down?

When can two identical items not be the same? Here is an example. As I write this column, our Detroit Lions have just lost to the Minnesota Vikings, leaving both teams with identical records of 3 wins and 5 losses. But the two teams are not equal. The Minnesota fans are thrilled that their team is 3-5, but the Lions fans feel miserable about the exact same record.

The reason? Minnesota is moving up, having had a terrible start to the season, while the Lions are on a downward spiral.

Life isn’t always about where you are, but more often about in which direction you are heading.

Around this time of the year we read the story of Jacob’s dream of a ladder, on which angels ascend and descend to and from heaven. There is also a spiritual ladder for the rest of us, on which we climb the rungs of holiness, reaching God through Torah study and mitzvah observance.

We find ourselves on different rungs of this ladder, some of us doing more, some less. What’s more important than our location, more important than the number of mitzvot we observe, is the direction in which we are heading. If two Jewish people are doing the same number of mitzvot, and dedicating the same number of hours to Torah study, but are moving in opposite directions, there’s no doubt that our preference is for the one who is moving upward.

Some people, who are not involved in Judaism, love to share with me about how traditional they used to be. That’s very interesting history, but I am more impressed by those who are just beginning to learn to read Hebrew and slowly taking the mitzvot upon themselves, and are progressing forward.

This message is present in the Chanukah story. In the Talmud, the Schools of Shammai and Hillel disagree over the method of lighting the Chanukiah. Beit Shammai says to kindle eight lights on the first night, and then decrease one light per day, until there is only one light remaining on the last night. Beit Hillel says the opposite, which, of course, is the practice we follow.

Before you completely dismiss the view of Beit Shammai, realize that this opinion accurately reflects the miracle of the oil. If oil meant for one day lasted for eight days, then it makes sense that the biggest flame would have been on day one and that by day eight the flame would have greatly diminished.

Beit Hillel, however, sees the situation differently. The miracles of Chanukah are both physical and spiritual. On each day, even though there is less oil than the day before, there is nonetheless an increase in spirit due to the miracle becoming more and more significant.

From Beit Hillel’s instruction for lighting the Chanukiah, we learn an important principle of Judaism. When it comes to matters of holiness, we are to be increasing, not decreasing. Therefore, our goal is to always be increasing our commitment to Jewish life, to Torah study and mitzvot. If you ever forget the message, just remember the Chanukiah and you will get yourself back on track.