Finding Light in Darkness: A Journey of Discovery and Growth

Our rational brain only agrees to accept and internalize that which aligns with logical reasoning. This left hemisphere of the brain is highly analytical, very rational, and struggles to contain contradictions or anything that defies conventional logic.

The major drawback of over-relying on it is that we live in a world defined by concealment, where logical scenarios exist alongside illogical ones. Logic alone does not provide all the answers and leaves us stunned and helpless in the face of a reality that is full of paradoxes: the righteous vs. the wicked, purity vs. impurity, and darkness vs. light. In such a complex world, we must learn to place our "left brain" in proper perspective.

Living in a world of contradiction can be confusing because we are trained to divide reality in two and see things in a binary way: light or darkness. We think we know how to clearly differentiate between the two, and we always prefer a direct encounter with the light only.

Light and Darkness – Holding Opposites Together

Darkness represents crisis, tragedy, suffering, and helplessness. In contrast, light signifies success, clarity, joy, and inner peace- conditions we naturally desire and find easier to carry.

Because reality is inherently dual, it is inevitable that we will encounter moments of darkness. We are not only expected to endure both light and dark, but to transform the darkness itself into light.

This is our life’s mission. To bring the hidden world into revelation, to transform what is concealed into something revealed, and to ignite the light, over and over again, until, on the eighth time, it shines at its highest, supernatural level.

This work of holding contradictions and merging them, is deeply contrary to our binary perception of light and darkness. This entire world, in its external form, is defined as darkness- where light is not visible- and our task is to continue lighting the candle. Not just once, but repeatedly, until that ultimate, transcendent light is revealed.

The ability to carry opposites and reconcile them, emerges precisely from the moment we reveal the light within the darkness. We isolate it, clarify it, and draw out the sparks of light mixed into the dark. To carry opposites means knowing how to find the candle within the dark and recognizing that darkness is only a cover, hiding the light behind it.

When we do this, the fundamental contradiction between light and darkness dissolves.

Why Was Darkness Created?

Darkness belongs to the world of Creation, a realm where things are made “ex nihilo” (from nothing). Darkness itself, in essence, is "nothingness." In a dark room, we see nothing- we are seeing "the absence."

Even though it offers us nothing and we’d rather live without it, it was created first. It belongs to the world of Creation, which comes before the world of Formation, where things are shaped from existing material.

“In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep... And G-d said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
(Bereishit 1:1–3)

Darkness came before light and was created to be the backdrop from which light would emerge. Without darkness, light has no meaning. If we understand that darkness was not created to obscure, but to serve as a vehicle for light, we can then succeed in merging the two and transcending the illusion of their opposition.

Three Stages: Exile, Revelation, Redemption- Parallel to Darkness, Illumination, and Light

When the world is cloaked in darkness and we struggle to see the light, we are in exile. We are disconnected, still seeing light and dark as separate. Focusing solely on the darkness is not the goal and makes the darkness stronger and hides the light even more. Darkness is merely the means but not the end. If we are unable to internalize this, we remain in exile.

The second stage is when, despite the darkness- or perhaps because of it- we begin to discover the light. This is the moment of illumination, when the idea that “light emerges from darkness” is no longer just theoretical. It becomes an inner motivation to approach the darkness, explore it, and uncover the immense light hidden within it.

It’s not easy. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack. In a sea of darkness, we must sharpen our sight and look for even the smallest flicker of light, knowing it’s there, hidden, waiting to be found. Whoever seeks, usually finds. This is the stage of revelation.

The third and final stage is when we live according to that light and act from within that revelation. We not only find the candle, but we light it and bring it into our lives. This is redemption- translating the insight into reality, and integrating the light fully into our lives.

The Maccabees and Us

The Maccabees stood up against darkness. They didn’t accept it passively, but understood that it concealed something far greater and more radiant. They didn’t mourn the destruction, but instead searched for light. They found it in a small jug of oil, hidden in the rubble, that brought illumination and ultimately became a great light.

We must internalize that no matter how dark life feels, that darkness is only external, and its entire purpose is to reveal light.

The Maccabees were able to hold opposites. They understood that darkness and light are intertwined, and this is what motivated them to fight, out of faith that the darkness was temporary and held a great light waiting to be revealed.

When there is darkness, we only need to light a candle. The Maccabees didn’t let the exile continue endlessly, and they refused to allow the external world- the impure, the hardened, and the blind- to dictate the reality. They sought the light, they found it, and and they lit it.

For this reason, we still light it today.

Happy Festival of Lights!

Inbal Elhayani, M.A, is a certified nlp practitioner, mindfulness and guided imagery therapist, writer and lecturer.