It has been said that Israel is destined to be a light unto the nations.
This task is like the action of a candle.
The candle makes no effort to combat the darkness.
It does not go from place to place to shed its light.
Its sole function is to burn with a little flame of its own, and without ulterior motive, it casts a light which dispels shadows.
Israel has no purposeful duty other than to be itself as a candle, to give forth light and let persons who are drawn to it come and become part of it.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz