Thursday night this week is the last night of Hanukkah. We will fill our hannukiot (aka menorahs) with candles as we end these eight days of celebration and light.

This year’s holiday has been different than those of the past. We are still reeling from the events of October 7, and we are still praying for the remaining hostages. We don’t know if they are alive or dead, but we can assume that if they are alive, they are in complete darkness.

In their honor I will put all eight candles in my menorah. But I will leave the final candle unlit.

It sounds strange to not light all of the candles. The eighth night of Hanukkah is the culmination of our holiday, with menorahs ablaze with candles and our families’ faces shining in the reflected light.

But this year is different. My joy in the miracles of the holiday is incomplete, because the miracle of redeeming the captives is incomplete. Some of the hostages are home, but they too are incomplete, as they grapple with the reality of their experiences in captivity. And far too many are still missing.

Every day, I pray for the hostages and for the souls of those who were murdered. We Jews usually light candles in memory of our lost and missing, but at the end of this Holiday of Light, I will refrain from lighting one of the candles. And I will leave it in my menorah as a reminder.

It will be a reminder that healing the world is my job too. That there is something I can do, however small, to help tip the world towards justice and peace. That just because I feel helpless and hopeless, I am not free to shirk the task.

I hope and pray that our Jewish people can once again live in peace and safety. I pray that no more Jewish lights will be extinguished. I pray that all the hostages will be freed.

I pray that somehow, as impossible as it may seem today, Israelis and Palestinians will find a way to live side by side.

Until that day, my candle will remain unlit.

If it feels meaningful to you, join me in leaving the 8th night’s candle dark. And then go out and shine your light into the world. Be bold and bright. Speak your truth and listen to others’ stories. Connect your lights with one another until the world is burning with positive, healing light.