Chamor: A Messenger of Hope

Tonight, in many homes throughout the world, the fourth candle on the menorah will be lit, marking the halfway point during the happy season of Hanukkah. In less than 2 weeks, we will be celebrating Christmas, followed by Kwanzaa and finally, we will say goodbye to 2020 and embrace all the hope that the coming New Year 2021 wil bring, largely through the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine and what we all hope are the initial steps that will end this horrific pandemic and the season of darkness we have been living through. 

"Chamor" is the Hebrew name for "donkey" and at this festive time of year, the donkey is central to many of the stories that have been passed from one generation to another. Without getting very sentimental or even, religious; the donkey is considered by many people of the Christian faiths to have carried a pregnant Mary on his back, as she and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem, to participate in a census of that time. In many nativity scenes, the donkey is one of the pieces we add to this beloved pastoral setting. It was also a donkey, who carried Jesus thirty-three years later, when he entered Jerusalem, leading to his passion and Resurrection. 

In one of my favorite books, When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy, within the chapter titled A Capacity For Joy, the authors write, 

"One of the many signs by which joy in animals can be recognized is vocalization."   

and while the sound of braying in the above video is the more obvious sign of the "vocalization" of joy; notice how the donkey uses more silent joyful gestures like an embrace, the closed eyes, the deeper and quieter sounds of contentment, as the donkey proceeds to rub his head all over the girl. 

For 2000+ years, Jews have remembered the great miracle that happened in the rededication of the second temple in Jerusalem, as they light each candle on their menorah for eight nights.  A single flame, providing both warmth and light, connects our past with our present. We live in dark times, surrounded by similar feelings of uncertainty, fear, loss, sorrow, grief. Possibly, many of the same feelings that Jews experienced during the Maccabean revolt in the Second Century BC. Hanukkah brings unexplainable light into the dark and with the light, comes a glimmer of hope. It is symbolically similar for Chamor, the donkey, who long ago carried hope into the darkened streets of Bethlehem and from there, the world. It is my hope that a video of a joyful Chamor (my fourth candle), will inspire you with hope and provide for you a similar glimmer of light and joy, into what may be a darker world than you are used to living in. 

Chag Sameach to all of my Jewish brothers and sisters.