Night Lights

Festivals of light in days of darkness.

I was always drawn to this menorah. It sat on the shelf at the Sherman Oaks Antique Mall for at least 2 years. Every time I went in I saw it and loved it, however, not being Jewish, I never purchased it thinking it would be found by someone who loved it as well, and actually needed a menorah. Yet, still it just sat there. Two years ago they were going out of business (they ended up saving the store but at the time no one knew this) Everything was discounted and it was the holiday season, less than 2 months after the October 7th Attacks in Israel. So I found myself buying it.

I texted Danica telling her I had bought a menorah for her. That was a very Danica thing to do; buy something because she loved it or it was on sale or thought someone could use it. (She used to accumulate clothing on sale for photo shoots she wanted to do with various people that may or may not ever happen some day, which is how I ended up with one of my favorite skirts.) It had such a beautiful sculptural element to it; I thought she may be drawn to it, too, as she had always dabbled in ceramics. She texted me back that she had been looking for a menorah, although she was specifically looking for one that been made in Israel. But she was happy to have this one and as fate would have it further, after some research, she found that in fact, it had been made in a ceramics factory in Israel. I was glad that a piece I loved would find a home where it was wanted and seemed fated to be.

There is no one I know who is not experiencing grief this year.