Adapted from an article by by Sarah Zadok
The wedding took place on Yom Kippur, followed by celebrations through Sukkot. After our deep union with G-d over the High-Holidays, we unpacked all the stuff we acquired through gift and through merit and got down to the business of being married. That was in the month of Cheshvan when we worked on building our relationship with G d as a Partner in our everyday lives. But like a physical marriage, ripe as it should be with fuzzy slippers moments, we should also strive for more than just comfort with our Heavenly Partner. A healthy and balanced marriage needs a little fire, too. That's where the month of Kislev and its famed Chanukah festival comes in. For a thriving, passionate, and meaningful relationship, with our spouses and with regard to our spiritual lives, too, we need to have some fire. All parties involved deserve that kind of energy. Interestingly, Chanukah, which begins in Kislev, isn't a Biblical festival at all. G d didn't issue a unilateral commandment for us to light the menorah like He did when He decreed Yom Kippur a fast day, or Sukkot a week of festive hut-dwelling. We initiated the idea. Chanukah was instituted by us, the Jewish people, (more specifically the rabbis among us in 139 BCE), as a means to acknowledge Him, and His commitment to us throughout the darkest of times.
This serves as a beautiful instruction for both our physical marriages and our spiritual marriage to our Creator: We can sit and wait for our spouse to waltz in and do something fabulously romantic; wait for him to make the first move. Or, we can take some initiative and responsibility for our relationship and create that heat. Chanukah is the time where we are expected to take off our spiritual fuzzy slippers and put on some heels; to bring our relationship up to the next level. Chanukah gives us the tools, both physical and spiritual, to bring fire and passion into our lives.
Throughout the eight days of Chanukah, we add one light to the menorah each night. Each night we build on what existed yesterday and we take it one step further today. Through eight nights of candlelit ritual, we add new dimensions of commitment, gratitude, and passion to our lives… and we eat copious amounts of fried food in the process. If that's not romance, then I don't know what is. Adapted excerpt from www.thejewishwoman.com.