Showing posts with label Chanukah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chanukah. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2025

Burning Bright at Any Percentage: The Chanukah Miracle of Light, Effort, and Purpose

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Chanukah is a time to reflect on one of the most miraculous moments in Jewish history: the victory of a small group of Jewish warriors over ...
Thursday, December 26, 2024

Life Lessons from Not Using the Menorah Light for Personal Benefit

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After I lit my candles for the first night of Chanukah yesterday, I sat here to begin writing this blog as I admire the beauty of lighting t...
Friday, December 8, 2023

Which is the Truer Miracle of Chanukah: The Military Victory or the Long-Lasting Oil?

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While Chanukah is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, it is one of the most well-known Jewish holidays due to its proximity to Christmas...
Thursday, December 22, 2022

Can You Light an Electric Menorah on Chanukah? And Why Does It Matter?

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Chanukah is the Jewish festival of lights to commemorate the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. According to Jewish tradition, ...
Tuesday, November 30, 2021

A Chanukah Lesson on the Tension of Jewish Identity and Interacting with Other Cultures

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When I was lighting Chanukah candles last night, my mind focused on a specific detail about the lighting. How do we place the candles on the...
1 comment:
Thursday, December 26, 2019

Why Add an Extra Candle on the Menorah for Each Night of Chanukah?

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Chanukah, which is the Jewish festival of lights, represents both a military victory of religiously conservative Maccabees over the Hellenic...
Thursday, December 14, 2017

Chanukah Gelt: The Significance of Giving Money on Chanukah

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To quote Adam Sandler, "Chanukah is the Festival of Lights. Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights." In Americ...
Thursday, December 29, 2016

Lighting for Chanukah: Olive Oil Versus Wax Candles

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Plenty of us are familiar with the part of the Chanukah story of how a ragtag team of Maccabees overcame the Greeks and were able to liberat...
Monday, December 7, 2015

Why Jews Publicize the Miracle of Chanukah

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Kislev 25 (this year, it falls on the sunset of December, 6 on the Gregorian calendar) marks the beginning of Chanukah, which is the Jewish ...
Monday, December 22, 2014

Eating Cheese on Chanukah and Why Using the Story of Judith As a Basis for This Practice Has as Many Holes as Swiss Cheese

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When I was in synagogue this past week, I learned about a peculiar  minhag (custom) in Jewish practice: eating cheese on Chanukah. In spite ...
Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Chanukah and Thanksgiving: Double the Holidays, Double the Gratitude

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This year, Chanukah comes so early on the Gregorian calendar that we will experience a rare phenomenon that has been dubbed as Thanksgivukka...
2 comments:
Friday, December 7, 2012

Parsha Vayeshev: Chanukah and Dealing with Spiritual Emptiness

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This week's Torah portion brings us to the story of Joseph (starting in Genesis 37 ). The favoritism that Jacob shows towards Joseph agi...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Rebellion for Freedom of Religion and the Chanukah Story

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The balance between obeisance and defiance in Judaism is captivating.  The story of Chanukah gives another example to better find that bala...
1 comment:
Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Paradox of the Dreidel

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Jewish tradition gives some insights as to why we play a dreidel on Chanukah.  The four letters on the dreidel, for instance, spell out ...
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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Chanukah and the Gift of Gradualism

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In the Gemara (Shabbat 21b), there is a debate between Hillel and Shammai as how to light the menorah .  Shammai believed that all eight sho...