Hanukah Fire

Last week I had a wonderful conversation with my friend Nino who works in the administrative office here.  She told me about celebrating Hanukah with her family and friends, and said it was good to think of the happy things.  She had been so worried about the fire up north near Haifa when it was still burning.  For a whole day, she said, she couldn't stop checking the news.  Millions of shekels of damage and nearly 4 dozen deaths were reportedly the result of a careless teenager and some hot coals.  Some houses and neighborhoods were taken, and others just nearby were spared. Nino even recognized a woman she new among those whose houses were lost.  But the next day, she decided to stop focusing on the bad news and spend more time thinking about the good.  The fire has since been contained. 

I asked Nino if it is hard during Hanukah, a celebration of a great miracles, to consider sad news where people really needed a miracle.  She said, "Some people think, we have too many sins, and that's why our brothers got the fire.  But it's all the way you think.  Not everyone thinks that way.   Look how we have breath every day.  That is a miracle.  Look at how the city is at peace, with nothing bad happening.  That is a miracle.  There are always miracles around us.  Every day is a miracle."