Light makes sense only in contrast to darkness. [Before lighting a candle] Take a moment to recall and embrace the dark times of your life: times of confusion, depression, and loss. Allow yourself to feel the "Dark Night of the Soul" not as punishment for sin but as prelude to salvation: "there was evening, there was morning, a first day" (The Bible, Gen. 1:5)....

[After lighting candle] Behold the light as a gift from the One who says "light" and light comes into being.

Rami Shapiro, Michael Smith in Let Us Break Bread Together