To me, Hanukkah is more than the presents and the games – though the house party we had earlier this month where the hosts made “An-dreidel” cookies was a lot of fun. Rather, it’s a festival of light.

It’s been said that it is better to light a single candle than curse the darkness a thousand times. And in the midst of the darkest time of the year, we light candles. Not a great big bonfire or even torchlight. Just simple candles, one at a time for eight nights.

Whatever your faith, however you celebrate, that’s what the holiday season means to me – families and friends coming together in the community. Those are the true candles banishing the darkness all around us; the hope that drives out the forces of hate.

And that’s ultimately what this campaign is all about to me. So today, as we near the big year-end fundraising deadline that will mean so much to our success, I ask for your help.

In Hebrew, each letter has a numerical value. The number 18 spells Chai (חי), which means life. You may know the common toast “L’Chaim!,” which means, “To Life!” As a result, 18 is a popular number that represents good luck and life. At weddings, bar mitzvahs, and when making donations, people often give gifts of money in multiples of 18.

So, as we prepare to celebrate the final night of Hanukkah, I’m asking you to chip in $18, $36, $72, $180, or more to my campaign for Congress.

– Andrei