The Daily

for 18 December 2022

Happy Hanukkah!

The other person with my name teaches music and vocal performance down in Boston. We got to know each other through arranging for domain names a while back. Some years ago she acquired a moose menorah. Since then, finding another one has been a goal of mine. Not that I’m Jewish, but I like reasons to celebrate; and Hanukkah, the miracle of the lamps, is a pretty good one for anybody. Also, my fairy godmother is Jewish… so I’m not sure what that makes me in terms of deity.

However… I think I have found a new goal. Or rather I found a new thing; now I have to decide whether it’s worth the money. I suspect the answer is no (which probably would have been the answer on the moose too since I’m rather cheap). But look at this!

This manages to work in miracle flames and the Asherah and the tree at the center of Eden and all sorts of ideas. And it has a lovely, sinuous Art Nouveau feel to the form. Plus, don’t those roots look like feet? Could it be an Ent-wife as well? Even the candles are awesome! (Though that might be Photoshop…)

I just wanted a free image of a menorah to post here today… and this happens…

In any case, best wishes for a warm and bright holiday!

More from Tolstoy’s Calendar of Wisdom

I have a few quotes that I’d like to share but that don’t really fit anywhere. So I thought I’d use them up today. Since Tolstoy tended to follow themes for several days running, these are all sort of related.

We manifest in love our understanding of the unity of our being with others, and in so doing we make our life greater. The more we love, the wider, larger, and more joyful our life becomes.
     — Tolstoy, 17 December

Every person should make a small effort, even the smallest effort, to improve the general well-being of humanity.
     — Tolstoy, 18 December

Wise people cannot be sufficiently educated, and educated people cannot be sufficiently wise.
     — Lao-Tzu, 23 December

If my soldiers started thinking, not a single soldier would remain in my army.
     — Frederick II, 29 December

The past does not exist. The future has not begun. The present is an infinitely small point in time in which the already nonexistent past meets the imminent future. At this point, which is timeless, a person's real life exists.
     — Tolstoy, 31 December

And that’s that for this year… should give you plenty to chew on in the five spare minutes you get between now and the end of the holidays.

©Elizabeth Anker 2022