That feeling isn’t new. In fact, there's a beautiful passage in the Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 499 that speaks directly to this. It uses the image of extinguished candles to describe the history of the Jewish people.
Imagine this: Rebbe Yochanan tells a story of someone walking at night. Someone kindly lights a candle, but it flickers and dies. Then another person lights another, and it too is extinguished. Discouraged, the traveler says, "From now on, I am only waiting for the light of morning."
The Yalkut Shimoni then relates this to the Jewish people. They say to Hakodesh Baruch Hu, the Holy One, blessed be He, "We made a Menorah for You in the days of Moshe, and it was extinguished. In the days of King Solomon, and it too was extinguished. From now on we are only waiting for Your light."
It’s a powerful image, isn’t it? A yearning for a light that won't fade.
But then comes the promise, the turning point: "Rise! Shine! For your light has come."
Rebbe Achah offers another beautiful analogy: Israel is compared to an olive tree, as it says, “A luxurious Olive Tree with fruit beautiful in form Hashem named you.” (Jeremiah 11:16). And Hashem is compared to a candle: “The candle of Hashem is the soul of man” (Proverbs 20:27). Oil feeds the candle, and together they illuminate. So, Hakodesh Baruch Hu says to Israel: "Since My light is your light, and your light is My light, you and I will go and illuminate Zion together." This is the promise of shared light, a partnership in bringing illumination to the world.
Rebbi Hoshaiah adds to this vision, saying that in the future, Israel will be a lamp for the nations, who will come to its light. "The mountain of the house of Hashem will be established..." (Isaiah 2:2). This echoes the verse: "For with You is the source of life, And in Your light, light is seen" (Psalm 36:10).
What exactly is that light?
The Yalkut Shimoni goes on to say that the light we see in God's light is the light of Mashiach, the Messiah. "God saw that the light was good" (Genesis 1:4) refers to the light of Mashiach, which Hakodesh Baruch Hu foresaw and stashed away under His Throne of Glory even before creation!
Then comes a dramatic scene. Satan asks God about this hidden light. God reveals Mashiach to him, and Satan is terrified, realizing that this Messiah will cast him down into Gehinom (hell).
The nations of the world, stirred up by Satan's fear, ask God who this powerful figure is. God answers: "Ephraim my righteous Moshiach is his name." He will elevate Israel, save his people, and no one will be able to stand against him.
But here's where it gets even more interesting, and deeply human.
Hakodesh Baruch Hu makes a stipulation with Moshiach. He tells him that the sins of the people will be placed upon him, like a yoke of iron, causing him great suffering. God asks, "Is this your will?"
Moshiach, in an act of incredible selflessness, accepts this burden, but on one condition: that not one soul of Israel will be lost, including those who have died, even stillborn babies, and even those only conceived in God's thought.
This paints a picture of Moshiach ben David, Messiah son of David, willingly taking on the pain and suffering of the world to ensure the salvation of all.
The text then describes the immense suffering of Moshiach ben Yoseph, Messiah son of Joseph, in the week leading up to the Messiah's arrival. He cries out to God, feeling overwhelmed by the burden. God comforts him, reminding him that he accepted this from the beginning of creation and that God Himself shares in this pain. "My head is drenched with dew," God says, quoting (Psalm 22:3), signifying His own suffering.
Finally, Moshiach ben Yoseph is appeased, accepting his role, saying, "It is sufficient that the servant be like his master."
The Yalkut Shimoni concludes with a description of the chaos and fear that will precede the coming of the Messiah. But God reassures Israel: "Do not be afraid! All that I have done, I have only done for your sake... the time of your redemption has arrived."
And this final redemption, unlike the earlier ones, will be complete and lasting, without pain or enslavement.
So, what does this all mean for us?
This passage from the Yalkut Shimoni offers a powerful message of hope and resilience. It reminds us that even in the darkest of times, when our lights seem to be extinguished, the promise of a brighter future remains. It speaks to the profound connection between God and Israel, a partnership in bringing light to the world. And it highlights the selfless sacrifice of Moshiach, who willingly takes on the burdens of humanity to ensure our ultimate redemption.
It's a reminder that even when we feel lost in the darkness, we are not alone, and the light, eventually, will come. Maybe, even, we can be a small candle for someone else, until that greater light appears.
Rise! Shine! For your light has come. Rebe Yochanan said: this can be compared to one who was going on his way in the evening. One comes along and kindles a candle for him, and it was extinguished. Another comes along and kindles another candle for him, and it too was extinguished. So he said, from now on, I am only waiting for the light of morning. Likewise, Yisrael said before Hakodesh Baruch Hu: we made a Menorah for you in the days of Moshe, and it was extinguished. In the days of King Solomon, and it too was extinguished. From now on we are only waiting for Your light. As it was said : for with You is the source of life, and in Your light, Light is seen. And so Hakodesh Baruch Hu said to Yisrael: Rise! Shine! For your light has come. Rebbe Achah said: Yisrael is compared to an Olive tree. As it was said : “A luxurious Olive Tree with fruit beautiful in form Hashem named you.” And Hashem is compared to a candle: “The candle of Hashem is the soul of man.” Is it not the way of oil to be given with the candle and the two of them illuminate as one? So Hakodesh Baruch Hu said to Yisrael: “since My light is your light, and your light is My light, you and I will go and illuminate Zion together. As it was said: “Rise! Shine! For your light has come.” Rebbi Hoshaiah said: in the future, Yisrael will be made a lamp for the nations of the world, and they will go to its light. And for what reason? “they will go to your light.” And so Hashem says: “The mountain of the house of Hashem will be established…etc.” This is what the verse said: “For with you is the source of life, And in your light, light is seen.” The congregation of Yisrael said before Hakodesh Baruch Hu: “Master of the universe, for the sake of the Torah that you have given me that is called the source of life, in the future, I will delight in your light. What is “in your light, light is seen? This is the light of Mashiach. As it was said: “G-d saw that the light was good.” This comes to teach that Hakodesh Baruch Hu looked into the future generation of Mashiach and into its events preceding the creation of the world, and he stashed them away for Mashiach and his generation under His Throne of Glory. Satan said before Hakodesh Baruch Hu: Master of the Universe, the light that is stashed under Your Throne of Glory, who is it for? He said: for the one who in the future will bring you back and humiliate you in shamed face. He said to Him: Master of the Universe, show him to me. He said to him: come and see him. When he saw him, he became horrified and fell upon his face and said: Surely this Mashiach will cast me down and all the ministering angels of the nations of the world in Gehinom. As it says: “death will be swallowed up forever and Hashem Elokim will wipe the tears from upon every face.” At that time, the nations of the world were stirred up and rushed forth and said before Him: Master of the Universe, who is this that we will fall under his hand? What is his name and what is his quality? Hakodesh Baruch Hu said to them: Ephraim my righteous Moshiach is his name. And his stature and the stature of his generation will be elevated. And he will illuminate the eyes of Yisrael and save his people and no nation or tongue will be able to stand against him. As it is said: “No enemy shall extort him, and no unjust man shall afflict him.” And all his enemies and oppressors will be terrified and run away from before him. As it says: “I will crush his enemies from before him,” even the rivers will cease from the sea: As it says: “I will set his hand upon the sea, his right hand upon the rivers.” Hakodesh Baruch Hu began to stipulate with Moshiach: when they ran away, He said to him: these are their sins that have been stashed away with you to put you in a yoke of iron in the future and making you like this calf whose eyes have been darkened anguishing your spirit in the yoke. And the sins of these will cause your tongue to cleave to the roof of your mouth…is this your will? Moshiach said before Hakodesh Baruch Hu: Master of the universe, perhaps this pain would last many years? Hakodesh Baruch Hu said to him: By your life and by the life of your head, I have decreed 7 for you. If this grieves your soul, then I will banish them from now on. he said before him: Master of the universe, with gladness and joy of my heart, I accept this upon myself under the condition that not one will be lost from Yisrael. And not only the living will be saved in my day, but even those that are hidden in the dust. And not only the dead alone will be saved in my day, but even those that have died in the days of first man until now! And not these alone but even the stillborn/aborted babies will be saved in my day! And not the stillborn alone, but even those that You only thought of and they have not yet been created! This I want, this I accept. They said, the week that Moshiach Ben David comes, brings beams of iron and given to him [Moshiach Ben Yoseph] upon his neck until it has bent his stature and he screams and cries and his voice ascends to the supernal heights. He said before Hashem: Master of the Universe, how much will be my strength? How much will be my spirit? And how much will be my soul? And how much will be my limbs? Am I not only flesh and blood? Regarding this time, David cried and said: “My strength dries up like a clay chard. At that time, Hakodesh Baruch Hu said to him: Ephraim My Righteous Moshiach, you have already accepted this upon yourself from the six days of Creation. Now your pain is like my pain. From the day that the evil Nebuchadnezzar went up and destroyed My house and burned My sanctuary and exiled my children to the nations of the world, by your life and the life of your head, I have not entered My Throne. And if you do not believe, see the dew that is upon My head. As it was said: “My head is drenched with dew.” At that time, Moshiach Ben Yoseph said before Him: Master of the Universe, now I am appeased, for it is sufficient that the servant be like his master. Rebi Yitzchak said: the year that King Moshiach will be revealed, all the kings of the nations of the world will taunt each other. The king of Persia will taunt the King of Arabia. And the king of Arabia will go to Aram to get advice from them. And the king of Persia returns and destroys the entire world. And all the nations of the world trembles and is terrified and the fall upon their faces and gripped with agony, like the agony of childbirth. And Yisrael trembles and is terrified and says: to where will we come and go, and to where will we come and go? And He says to them: My children, do not be afraid! All that I have done, I have only done for your sake. why are you afraid? Do not be afraid, the time of your redemption has arrived. And the final redemption will not be like the first redemption. For the first redemption was painful for you and you were enslaved to other kingdoms after it. but the final redemption, there will be no pain and enslavement to other kingdoms after:
