Tonight, Shabbat gives me hope.

Sometimes, I feel despair creeping in; tugging at the corners of my sweaters, slithering down my spine and making its way into my lungs. It's a smog that ensnares from so many directions: warmongering, lack of empathy and humanity shown to one's fellows, integrity ground to dust, discernment ignored and locked away.

So many things inspire hopelessness in me...seeing Judaism be conflated with nationalism, when I see people choose not to engage in good faith, when people choose ignorance over empathy... the list is long.

But tonight, as I light my Shabbat candles, I keep hope in mind. For we owe it to each other to not give in to despair.