What to do with Hanukah? (Spoiler alertits actually about Diaspora.)

Hanukah lives in the sweet spot where there is one story which claims that it is historically true and yet there is very little contemporary evidence to back this upthe earliest account being written generations after the eventsand there is another story, a miracle story whose earliest recording is centuries after its supposed occurrence. Yet, we go with the miracle story.

There was no love lost between the Rabbis and the Hasmoneans. There are several legends about Rabbis (i.e. Shimon ben Shatah) confronting the Hasmonean king Yannai. (e.g. Sanhedrin 19a-b), and Yannai killing Sages (Kidushin 66a). So it is not surprising that the Rabbis did not glorify the Hasmonean victory, and chose to center a different legend which seems to have arisen in the first centuries of the common era. The additional prayer (called al hanisim) that is added to the central prayer does not mention the miracle of the oil. The earliest mention of the miracle of the oil is in the commentary (the scholion) to a first century list of holidays called Megillat Taanit. This commentary is not mentioned in the Palestinian Talmud. Its first appearance is in the Babylonian Talmud many centuries later.

While this may point to a choice for the miracle story over the martial story, the martial story did not fade away. It arose from time to time, gaining full rehabilitation with the birth of the Zionist movement whose adherents looked to the Maccabees for ancestral precedent.

However, this is not my point.

The earliest rabbinic legal discussion of the obligations of Hanukkah (as opposed to mentioning Hanukkah in passing) is not in the Palestinian Mishnah. It is in a supposed Palestinian baraitta quoted in the Babylonian Talmud and not in the Palestinian Talmud. This is the famous debate between the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai as to whether one lights one candle on the first night and then adds a candle each night (Hillel); or conversely one lights eight candles on the first night and then subtracts a candle each night (Shammai). This is followed by the obligation to light the candelabrum in the doorway, outside, or if one lived on an upper floor, in the window.

These are the earliest legal discussions of Hanukkah. There are others. The salient point is that many of the laws have to do with the placement of the candelabrum in order to publicize the miracle (pirsumei nisa). One might have thought that a holiday whose legend included the purification of the Temple would have had a Temple-like ritual at its center (compare the (not) eating of the Passover on Pesach). Instead, even the candelabrum does not replicate the seven branched Temple candelabrum. The focus of the holiday obligations are marking Jewish space. Facing outward at the exact moment that people return from the market. If one has two entrances, the Talmud asks, does one have to light in both places?

Hanukah is a diasporic holiday which celebrates place. This place where we are now is the place in which we announce the miracle. This is not a second rate reminder of a ritual whose better form would have been and will be ensconced in the Temple. It is a diasporic ritual which lays claim to diasporic Jewish space.

This places Hanukkah on the same axis as Purim, again a holiday which is about and in diaspora, and would not make sense in the Land of Israel. However, the difference is that Purim posits that redemption is impossible, and that as long as the King is maliciously or foolishly evil there will be a never-ending drama in which first Haman succeeds and then Mordecai succeeds. Hanukkah celebrates the fact of being here. Light in whatever many religious or secular metaphors it is clothed is brought into these Jewish spaces. The reason that is ascribed to the House of Hillel for the custom that we follow in lighting the candles is just that we go upwards in holiness and not the opposite. We light the candles and increase the holiness. Here.

Hanukkah is a diasporic holiday in that is portable. The celebration of Hanukah defines the space that is celebrated as a Jewish spacelike a mezuzah on a door post, or an eruv boundary in a city. Like these other markers it creates Jewish space which is non-exclusive. Jewish space which has permeable boundaries. Jewish space which lives in proximity to others, despite the fact that this proximity is risky. From the start, the halakhah of Hanukah decided that in a time of danger one need not light the candelabrum on the outside or facing out, rather one may light inside on a table.

When we light candles today, we again announce that we live in Jewish spaces which are proximate to other spaces, and while we embrace this proximity we are aware that it is risky, and yet still we increase the holiness, the light, from day to day. Here, in this time, and in this place.

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/ What do we do with Hanukah? Jewschool - Jewschool

Authors caution: if you are of the absolute belief that the teachings of the rabbis as recorded in the Talmud have the imprimatur of divine authority and cannot be questioned, please be advised that you may find what follows to be somewhat heretical!

It is almost the 25th of Kislev. We anxiously await the arrival of the years shortest days and longest nights, when we shall illumine our homes and (for some of us, our Zoom) windows with the display of hanukkiot (Hanukkah menorahs) advertising the great miracle(s) of ages past. Our children and grandchildren know the brachot and the songs. The aromas of latkes and sufganiot will soon fill the air. The dreidel will spin, and the letters on its four sides will proclaim: Nes gadol hayah sham a great miracle happened there. And when asked what was the miracle, we answer: It was the miracle of the oil. There was only enough oil for one days celebration of the rededication of the Temple, but God miraculously ensured that the menorah could burn for all eight days.

What is the source of this account? Where do we read about this miracle? Do we know if it is true? The story of Hanukkah comes to us from the Books of the Maccabees. They are part of the post-canonical biblical literature called the Apocrypha. Maccabees tells the historical account of ancient Israel governed by oppressive rulers from Syria whose policies of Hellenization threatened the survival of our unique identity as Jews. In these accounts we read of how Jew struggled with Jew because different parts of the community had different attitudes toward the assimilationist tendencies of the ruling foreign influences. The High Priesthood had been corrupted, and the High Priest was little more than a pawn in the grander political machinations between ruler and subject. But nowhere in the tale of Judah Maccabees heroic military victory over the much stronger Syrian army is there any mention of this miracle of the oil.

That miracle story appears for the first time in the Talmud in the rabbinic texts that are written between 200 and 600 years after the events of 165 BCE. The miracle of the oil is the way that the rabbis uncovered Gods role in this miraculous slice of history, emphasizing a theological lesson instead of the nationalist celebration of courage, strength and revolutionary action. Even in Zachariah, the text chosen by the rabbis for the Haftarah on the Shabbat in Hanukkah, the message resounds: Not by might, not by power, but My Spirit alone, shall we all live in peace.

The rabbis may have been motivated by any number of concerns as they dealt with interpreting the events of ages past and developing the rituals to commemorate them. Certainly, they were aware of the danger of celebrating a national uprising against a foreign ruler whilst they lived under the control of the Roman Empire. Surely, they understood the value of emphasizing the theological message rather than the military victory. There is no doubt that, for the rabbis, it must have been comforting to discover Gods true presence in the midst of these events which are so inspiring and motivational.

Notwithstanding such source-critical analyses, we all know that our children (sooner rather than later) start to ask if these things really happened. They use the power of their intellect, and the critical thinking skills we demand our schools teach them. They apply the powerful forces of rational analysis and post-modern intellectual inquiry. And they start to doubt the veracity of the legend that attributes a miracle to God as the core component of our Hanukkah celebration. How can we respond?

Here is what we ought not do.

Do not

1. Stick your head in the sand and pretend they are not asking;

2. Offer them facile explanations that ask them to put aside their questions.

What can we do? We help them grow in faith and deepen their sense of purpose by offering more adequate ways to own the Hanukkah stories and celebrations.

The Number Nine

1. The Kabbalists suggest that the words Nes Gadol (A Great Miracle), through gematria, add up to 9 (the total sum of the letters is 153, then the sum of those digits is 9).

2. Nine is also truth (emet), whose numerical equivalent is 441, the sum of the digits again being 9.

3. So where is the truth of the great miracle if it is possible that it didnt exactly happen the way the rabbis suggest in the Talmud?

We need to help our communities and our children understand that there are different kinds of truth. Historicity, verifiable fact, reality as it is lived, experienced and reported upon is only one kind of truth. There are also eternal truths, truths the heart knows best, ways of understanding our relationship to each other, our world and God that go beyond the simplistic question of Did it really happen that way?

One approach understands that the miracle of seeing the oil burning was not in itself, on any individual day, a miracle. Only the knowledge that the oil had burned the day before and the day before that makes the miracle of today become evident. It can be said that miracles happen as they continue each day to be renewed and reaffirmed.

There is truth in the miracle of the oil when we open our eyes, we can see the constant unfolding of Gods miraculous presence in our lives and in our world. We encounter the Holy in the everyday when we affirm the blessing of waking up to a new day, of seeing the sun rise again, of watching the gardens bloom, of hearing the laughter of children, of watching justice be affirmed for those who need it most, of knowing that the hungry can be fed and the naked can be clothed. The miracles of Gods presence are all around us if we but open our eyes and become Gods partner. This is the only Truth that I really know!

The Rabbinically Speaking column is provided as a public service by the Jewish Press in cooperation with the Pinellas County Board of Rabbis. Columns are assigned on a rotating basis by the board. The views expressed in the column are those of the rabbi and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Jewish Press or the Board of Rabbis.

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Bursting the bubble: Even the Rabbis perpetuated a "hoax!" - jewishpresspinellas

ATHENS, Greece (JTA) When my wife and I arrived in this capital city on Sept. 1 to serve as rabbinical emissaries to the Jewish community, I have to admit I was very excited about what the prospect of spending Hanukkah in Greece might be like. With nearly 90% of the Jewish Greek population wiped out during the Holocaust, the majority of survivors returned to settle in Athens, which now boasts close to 3,000 members in a warm and special community.

My experiences here so far, while smaller and more limited due to coronavirus restrictions, have provided me with a remarkable new understanding of the history of that period one that is very different from what many of us are familiar with.

Growing up as a child in Israel, the narrative of the Jewish victory over the mighty and wicked Greeks is one that we learned from the youngest ages. That story, of course, created a certain sense of mystery and perhaps even anger toward the Greek nation.

But upon arrival in Greece, I quickly came to appreciate that the history is far more complex and that Hanukkah is commemorated very differently here as a result.

The Jewish community of modern-day Greece largely belongs to the Romaniote heritage, known to be one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Historians debate whether the community dates back to the fourth-century BCE or only the second century. Either way, these are a people with an ancient history and deep-rooted traditions. Part of that tradition is their identity as Greeks, which is at least as strong as their identity as Jews. For obvious reasons, the Jews of Greece feel no small degree of discomfort at their people being labeled as the evildoers in the Hanukkah story.

But the Greeks of the story are not the same as the Greeks of today. The regime that ruled over the Land of Israel and terrorized the Jewish people until the Maccabean revolt was the Seleucid Empire. Their territory stretched from the Mediterranean region (including Greece) and well eastward into Persia. Most of the empires soldiers were mercenaries or slaves from the countries they occupied.

The major cities of the empire were not centered in Greece but in Syria and Iraq. Its capital was the city of Antioch, located in modern-day Turkey. The Antiochus we know from the Hanukkah story, Antiochus IV, only received his Greek citizenship in his 30s. The early high commander sent to quash the Maccabean revolt was of Syrian origin, not Greek.

Greek Jews are deeply committed to embracing the more historically accurate version of the story. There are very practical implications of this shift. In many local prayer books, the term Yavan (Greece) is omitted from Al Hanisim, part of the Hanukkah prayers. Similarly, the local version of the song Maoz Tzur, which is recited alongside the lighting of the menorah, replaces Greeks with Syrians as the force that ganged up against the Maccabees.

I have yet to determine exactly when these traditions began, but they are certainly ancient. The Talmud references several locations in the Syrian state (Aram Tzuba) that places them within the Seleucid Empire. These discoveries reflect how Jewish traditions can differ greatly from place to place particularly in relation to how the Jewish community perceives the nation in which it is located.

Being part of a network of Orthodox emissaries spread out around the Jewish Diaspora, my wife and I have gained incredible insight into local cultures and traditions, bringing richness, understanding and new meaning into our holiday celebrations. This year, in addition to our traditional potato latkes, we will be making the special Greek Hanukkah doughnuts with honey, loukoumades.

As I look forward to this Hanukkah, which I know will be unique in so many ways, I welcome the chance to embrace a new perspective on a story that I thought I had always known. This year, Ill be rejoicing not about a victory over the Greeks, but about the enduring and resilient triumphs of the Jews over darkness no matter our adversaries.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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I knew Hanukkah celebrated defeating the Greeks. Then I moved to Athens and the story got complicated. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

If youve been through Hebrew school, you most likely learned about Judah the Maccabee, son of Matityahu, the courageous warrior who routed out the Seleucid Greeks from the Holy Land in the miraculous chain of events that we celebrate every year on Chanukah.

But what do we really know about Judah, or his four brothers? The Talmud gives us no information, leaving us to comb through various texts dating back to the Second Temple era, when the Maccabean revolt took place.

This account is mainly based on Megillat Antiochus, a text that was preserved within the Jewish community and which some even read every year on Chanukah. At times it has been supplemented with information found in the books of Maccabees, Josephus and other sources, as indicated in the footnotes.

However, it should be noted that many of these events have been obscured by the sands of time, and that no texts known to us can be believed to be entirely accurate portrayals of what took place.

Section from handwritten Aramaic Megillat Antiochus, from an old Yemenite siddur (Credits: Davidbena at en.wikipedia.org)

Yehudah was the eldest of the band of brothers, known for being the leader of the Jewish revolt and the mightiest of them all. His father compared him to the original Yehudah, the mighty son of Jacob, who was himself compared to a fierce lion. While he is commonly described as the triumphant warrior who liberated Jerusalem and restored Jewish rule, according to Megillat Antiochus he was actually killed quite early in the war, even before his father passed away.

The Megillah recounts that the brothers came home to Matityahu, declaring that they could not continue to fight because Yehudah was killedthat since he was as strong as all of them combined, they would not be able to succeed without their older brother and leader. With no alternative, old Matityahu took his sons place and led his sons into battle.

However, according to the books of Maccabees and Josephus, Yehudah carried on, leading his brothers in battle, rededicating the Holy Temple, and leading the Jewish people both militarily and spiritually as the high priest. This continued for about three years, until his untimely death in the battle of Elasah.

He was succeeded by his younger brother Yonatan, who took over his positions and led the Jewish people in his stead.

It is quite interesting that even while being so celebrated in secular texts, he is not mentioned even once in the Mishnah or the Talmud, or even in the special Chanukah additions to the prayers. The only rabbinical mention of him is in the brief passages about him in Megillat Antiochus.

That being said, Yehudah HaMakabi is known, and rightfully so, as an outstanding Jewish hero, a champion who fought for Judaism, Jews, and the right to serve Gd without any intrusions from our oppressors. He is believed to have been the one to initially led his brothers in battle until his untimely death, and will forever have our admiration as Judah the Maccabee.

Yehuda leading the Maccabees in battle (Gustave Dore)

Shimon was the second of the band of brothers; he is known for outliving all his brothers, eventually assuming leadership of the Jewish people and becoming the progenitor of the Hasmonean royal dynasty.

His father compared him to the original Shimon, the son of Jacob, who avenged his sisters honor and destroyed the city of Shechem.

The book of Maccabees relates that Shimon was chosen by his father before his death to take his place as the social and ethical leader of the people, leaving the military and political control to Yehudah. As Matityahu said, "Listen to Shimon, your brother, for he is wise and sensible, and he will be to you as a father."

Shimon stood by his brother Yehudah in battle, and after Yehudahs death, he stood by his brother Yonatan as well. After both were ultimately killed, Shimon took control of the military leadership of the Jewish people.

Shimon handled the political upheavals that were happening in and around the land of Judea, striking deals, taking sides and maneuvering the stormy seas of diplomacy efficiently. Shimons reign lasted about nine years.

Shimons demise is a sad story. Shimons son-in-law Ptolemy (Talmai) plotted to overthrow Shimon and his sons, giving himself free rein in Judea. Ptolemy invited his father-in-law, together with the whole family, to the Duk fortress for a holiday celebration; amid the festivities, he had Shimon and two of his sons killed, and other family members were taken hostage. Messengers were sent to kill another son, Yochanan Hyrcanus, who was not at the party.

Yochanan Hyrcanus gathered his troops and fought back, laying siege to Ptolemy and his forces. Ptolemy, trying to fend him off, threatened and then killed his mother-in-law and another remaining brother, until he ultimately escaped, leaving the control of Judea in Yochanan Hyrcanuss hands. Yochanan Hyrcanus followed in his fathers ways and successfully led the Jewish people for about 30 years.

It should be noted that many of the subsequent members of the Hasmonean dynasty were far from righteous. They were often antagonistic to the Torah sages, at times going so far as to ruthlessly persecute and murder them.

Yochanan was the third of the band of brothers; he is often seen as the least prominent of his brothers, since he was neither the official leader of the Jewish people nor died a spectacular, heroic death (see Elazar).

Yet in Megillat Antiochus he is hailed as the hero of the story. He is the only one of the brothers who has any identifying details told about him: he is referred to as a kohen gadol (high priest), and the whole Chanukah story begins in the Megillah with Yochanan:

General Nikanor, sent by Antiochus to tyrannize the Jewish people, arrived at the Holy Temple. After murdering a great many Jews, he set up an idolatrous altar there and then slaughtered a swine on it, bringing its blood into the holy site. Yochanan heard about what had happened, and he set out to avenge the Temples defilement and the persecution of his brethren. He fashioned himself a long thin sword and hid it under his garments. He came to the Temples gates, demanding an audience with Nikanor, who granted his request.

Nikanor greeted him fiercely: You must be one of those who rebelled against the king and are opposed to him.

Yochanan replied, Sir, that is me, but I have come here now before you, and I will do whatever you command me.

Nikanor was satisfied with this reply, and offered Yochanan the kings protection if he were just to offer a swine on the altar.

Yochanan responded: I would do so, but I worry that if my fellow Jews find out, they will surely kill me. If you send everyone out, and leave me here on my own, then I will not hesitate to do as you command. Nikanor obliged, and the two were left alone.

Yochanan whispered a silent prayer, took three steps, and stabbed Nikanor in the heart with the weapon he had hidden.

Yochanan then arose, rallied his people, and fought back against Nikanors legion triumphantly, winning them a great, but only temporary, victory.

He returned and built a pillar, naming it after himself, Maccabee, slayer of the mighty.

This, of course, angered Antiochus terribly, and one thing led to the next, resulting in the Chanukah story.

Yochanan was compared by his father to Avner ben Ner, a great and mighty warrior, the general of the Jewish army during King Sauls reign.

In the Book of Maccabees he is mentioned a few times as leading different legions in battle. His life ended when he attempted to entrust a large fortune that he was carrying to the Nabataean tribe, and was captured and killed by the sons of Jambri. His surviving brothers Yonatan and Shimon avenged his death by attacking the Jambris during a wedding celebration, killing hundreds and reclaiming the fortune.

An illustration of Hashmonen martyrdom (Woodcut, Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1860).

Yonatan was the fourth of the band of brothers; he is known for assuming Yehudahs position after his death and leading the Jewish people for nearly two decades, transforming the Jews from a band of rebels into a power to be reckoned with.

Yonatan was compared by his father to the original Yonatan, the son of King Saul, who successfully fought against the Philistines, protecting the Jewish people.

The book of Maccabees relates that Yonatan and Shimon often worked as a team throughout the ongoing battles. After Yehudahs death, when the mantle of leadership was passed to Yonatan, Shimon stayed by his side.

Yonatan was a brave and skilled leader. He successfully pulled through the many battles and political turbulence, while uprooting all pagan and Hellenistic influences in Judea.

Ultimately the Seleucids opted to make peace with him, granting him control of the region, at first unofficially, and eventually with open and official peace. At this point Yonatan reclaimed the position of high priest as well.

Unfortunately, this blissful situation did not last long. After a military uprising in the Seleucid Empire, Yonatan was once again at war. Things did not play out in his favor, and he was taken hostage by the Seleucid general Tryphon (the leader of the revolt). Tryphon demanded ransom money and family members as collateral, and although Shimon complied, Tryphon did not hold back his attack on Judea, and he had Yonatan killed.

Yonatan and his army destroying a pagan temple (Gustave Dore, 1866)

Elazar was the fifth and youngest of the band of brothers; he is known primarily for the heroic feat of killing a war elephant and the high-ranking general mounted upon it.

Elazar was compared by his father to the famed zealot and priest Pinchas, the son of Elazar, who stood up against the desecration of Judaism and morality brought on by the Moabite women, slaying the primary sinners, avenging Gds honor, and thereby saving the Jewish people from a plague.

Elazars valiant death has been glamorized throughout history as the epitome of a heroic death and self-sacrifice. His death has been portrayed in many famous secular and Christian paintings throughout the Middle Ages.

The story of his death is commonly told as follows: At the battle of Beit Zechariah, Elazar saw a high-ranking military leader atop a mighty war elephant; he courageously approached and stabbed the elephant, causing it to fall and die, crushing him under its weight. However, in Megillat Antiochus the story is recounted in a more harrowing fashion with a little less background; it relates that Elazar sank in the elephants excrement while attempting to kill the ferocious beast. Also, according to the Megillah, this incident happened before the miracle of the oil and the rededication of the Temple, while Maccabees places this battle later.

Artist's impression of the heroic death of Elazar (Gustave Dore, 1866)

Behind every great man stands a great woman. In the case of these five men, it was their sister Chanah, who, after being expected to go through an offensive and inappropriate experience, put her foot down, urging and encouraging her brothers to protect her honor and the honor of all Jewish women.

The law at the time required every Jewish woman to spend her first night as a married woman with the Greek governor. This decree went on for a while, causing many women to either not marry or to endure this horrible violation. On Chanahs wedding night, she spiritedly persuaded her brothers to stand up for justice and to rid themselves of the depraved governor.

The Maccabees resolved to take on the Greeks, stormed the governors palace, killed him and wreaked havoc in his camp. This incident served as another spark that catapulted the already unsteady military situation into a full-on war.

In addition to Yehudit (who may or may not have been a relative as well), Chanah is referred to as one of the heroines of Chanukah story, with some rabbinical sources even attributing the entire miracle to her.

For more on this story, read: Chabad.org: Woman at War

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Five Brave Men and One Brave Woman - Judah the Maccabee and his siblings - Chabad.org

Charles Winokoor|The Herald News

FALL RIVER The Jewish Festival of Lights is about to become part of the COVID-19 Zoom generation.

Cantor Shoshana Brown of Fall Rivers Temple Beth El says she came up with the idea of sharing the tradition of lighting the candles, reciting a prayer and singing a song or two with her congregants.

The Hanukkah (sometimes spelled Chanukah) Zoom will be transmitted at 5:30 p.m. the first and last nights of the eight-night and eight-day holiday which according to Jewish law marks the rededication in 165 BCE of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

The first night of Hanukkah is this Thursday, Dec. 10; the last night will be the following Thursday on Dec. 17.

Brown and her husband Rabbi Mark Elber have conducted services for Temple Beth El since July 2013.

It will be short, maybe 20 minutes with two or three songs, Brown said.

She said the last time members of the congregation were allowed inside the temple to attend services was in September during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Special precautionary measures at the time were in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Brown says theres a good reason that weekly, religious services on the mornings of Monday and Thursday, as well as every Friday evening and Saturday morning, have been held remotely.

The median age of our congregation is about 80. Its not worth the risk to our community, she said.

The night-to-night lighting of candles of one through eight each of which is placed ina menorah -- is meant to symbolize a miracle of sorts.

According to the Hebrew Talmud, following the battle victory of the Maccabees over a Greek Seleucid Empire militia, it was discovered there was only enough sacred olive oil left to burn in the menorah for a single night.

The miracle was that it lasted eight nights, which Brown says represents the continuation of the Jewish people.

Its a very minor holiday, compared to other religious holidays on the Jewish calendar, Brown said, but one that engenders celebration and optimism.

Brown said Hanukkah, which usually occurs in December and often includes the exchange of cards and gifts, has come to represent an equivalent of sorts to Christmas in the minds of many Christians.

Rabbi Elber said he hopes the Hanukkah Zoom version helps fill a void created by the current coronavirus, which so far has led to the deaths of around 285,000 Americans.

In more than one previous year, Elber said, a Klezmer band was hired to play Eastern European Jewish dance music in the temple for one of the days of Hanukkah.

Weve always had an afternoon party with music and food, he said, adding that the Zoom version is a great way to keep it alive and vibrant.

Elber said invitations to take part in the Hanukkah Zoom are limited to temple members to prevent anyone from hacking in and making anti-Semitic remarks.

He said he conducts all Zoom prayer services from his home as opposed to inside the temple building.

Temple Beth El president Steve Silverman said sharing the holiday remotely is the best alternative we have and a great choice for people to see each other.

Cantor Brown said the only conceivable silver lining in terms of the pandemic, as far as Zoom prayer services is concerned, is that some former congregants who no longer live in the area are able to partake using their home computers.

She cited the examples of one woman in her 90s living in a New Jersey assisted living facility and another elderly woman who resides in Chestnut Hill.

Rabbi Elber said Hanukkah traditionally starts as the moon wanes and concludes with a move towards new light.

Placed in the context of the current pandemic, Elber said that lunar progression is probably an apt metaphor for the much-anticipated arrival of an effective COVID-19 vaccine.

God willing, as they say, and with good science, he said.

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Hanukkah in Fall River Zooming live courtesy of Temple Beth El - Fall River Herald News

Parshat Vayigash deals primarily with the events surroundingJacobs arrival in Egypt. After many tribulations, Joseph reconciles with hisbrothers, Jacob arrives in Egypt and finally reunites with Joseph, and thestory comes to a close. By the time we reach Parshat Vayechi, we arealready dealing with Jacobs death and his final reckoning with his sons.

Asa rule, the haftarahtraditionally associated with each parshah emphasizes the central elements of that parshah asunderstood by our sages, and in effect constitutes a form of interpretation ofthe entire parshah.Sometimes the connection between the haftarah and parshah is clear and obvious, and sometimes it is soremote that, in order to understand why the sages paired a particular haftarahwith a particular parshah,one must sit down and think. In the case of the haftarah associated with Parshat Noach, for example, the only similarity to the parshahseems to be the appearance of the words the waters of Noah.When there are divergent opinions and customs regarding which haftarah weread as in the cases of Parshat Vayishlachor Parshat Vayeitzei,for example these disputes usually revolve around the question ofwhat the parshahsessential point is.

Theessence of ParshatVayigash would appear to be the descent to Egypt, but the haftarah,which relates Ezekiels prophecy of the stick of Judah and the stick ofEphraim, shifts the focus away from this subject to the meeting, or perhapsclash, of Joseph and Judah. This, according to the haftarah, is the essence ofthe parshah;everything else is ancillary material.

The Joseph-Judah relationship and the points atwhich their paths converge continue throughout history. From the sale of Josephonward, Judah and Joseph constantly interact with each other, and their relationshipcontinues in various forms. Here, in Parshat Vayigash, their interaction is a confrontation,as the Midrash comments, Then Judah went up to him advancingto battle. TheMidrash views this confrontation as a momentous event, adding, For lo, thekings converged thisrefers to Judah and Joseph; they grew angry together thisone was filled with anger for that one, and that one was filled with anger forthis one.This is an epic clash between two kings, one that continues to occur in variousforms throughout history.

Thereare times and places where the Joseph-Judah relationship is one of cooperationand even love. In the battle against Amalek, the leadership of the People ofIsrael consists of Moses, Aaron, and two other people: Chur, a member of the tribe ofJudah, stands by Moses side opposite Aaron, while Joshua, from the tribe ofJoseph, leads the actual war. This connection appears again in the story of thespies, where Joshua and Caleb are the only two spies who refrain fromspreading calumnies about the land.Moses himself is connected by blood to the tribe of Judah (Aaron married thesister of the tribes prince, Nachshonthe son of Aminadav, and Miriam, Chursmother, was married to Caleb the son of Yefuneh). On the other hand,Joshua of the tribe of Joseph is his close disciple.

Thisduality does not end there but continues through the generations. The ShilohTabernacle stood in the territory of Ephraim for over 300 years, whereas theTemple was built in Jerusalem, on the border of the territories of Judah andBenjamin.The dirges of Ezekielfeature the sisters Ohola and Oholiva, who correspond to the kingdoms of Judahand Israel: Ohola is Samaria, and Oholiva is Jerusalem.In the royal house, although Saul is not from a tribe of Joseph, he is adescendant of Josephs mother Rachel, while David is from the tribe of Judah.The encounter between them is one of antagonism, but, as if to balance out thatanimosity, we read of a parallel and opposite relationship: the friendship andlove between Jonathan and David. There is Joshua and there is Caleb; the tribeof Judah and the tribes of Joseph; the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom ofIsrael; David and Jonathan. We see that this duality is woven throughout ourhistory, to the point that we ourselves are an example of it: The Jewish peopletoday consists solely of descendants of Judah and Benjamin.

Thiscomplicated relationship between Joseph and Judah, in all its manifestations,continues to persist, and will continue until the end of days: Even oureschatological texts describe a division between the Messiah son of David andthe Messiah son of Joseph.

The meeting of Joseph and Judah in Parshat Vayigashilluminates one aspect of their relationship. On the larger historical plane,Joseph possesses an aspect of glory that Judah lacks, in the real sense and inthe esoteric sense. At their first meeting, members of the tribe of Josephalmost always overshadow members of Judah. Even from birth, Joseph has anadvantage: He is smarter, more handsome, more successful, and more loved. Inthis respect he lives up to his characterization as the sun in his famousdream, in that he is far more lustrous than his peers, while Judah appearsinferior from the very beginning.

Thisparadigm follows here as well. How do they meet? Joseph, unofficially the kingof Egypt, meets with Judah, a peasant shepherd from some remote place. Josephstands there in all his glory, and facing him, Judah went up to him.

What,in comparison to Joseph, does Judah have to offer? What is unique about him? Itappears that Judahs unique point is continuity and endurance. Judahperseveres, as he did when he admitted his responsibility to Tamar, and this isa point that can be observed in the cases of many other members of his tribe.Joseph outshines Judah with respect to glory, but as for perseverance andstaying power and the eternityrefers to Jerusalem Joseph,for all his nobility, does not measure up.

Judahperseveres because he has the advantage of being able to fall, as it says,Though he may fall, he is not utterly cast down.When Judah falls, he is able to get up again. This is Judahs special quality;it is part of his essence.

Thepoint of Judah went up to him is that Judah, in spite of being a person ofminor importance the contrast between his and Josephs appearancemust have been striking nevertheless dares to approach the king. Tosome extent, this evokes the way in which Saul meets with David. Saul is theking, and David is a youth brought in from tending the flock to entertain Saul.

Intrinsicto Joseph and his descendants is a sort of perfection, but this perfection isvery fragile: When something breaks, they are unable to fix it. For Joseph,every situation is all or nothing, whereas Judah is adept at raising himself upagain.

Foran example of this dichotomy, one must look no further than Saul and David.Saul and David both sinned. The difference between them is the following: AfterSaul breaks once, he breaks again a second time and a third time. Though Saulcame from a distinguished family and was considered of greater stature thanall the people acourageous warrior; a humble, modest, and worthy individual; a puresoul when he falls, he is unable to get up. When Saul sins, hereaches a state in which he is ready to die and is also willing to accept theentire punishment he deserves. In contrast, when David sins, he draws newwisdom and maturity from the experience, penning the book of Psalms in itswake. This is quite an accomplishment! King David can sink low, but he canchannel that low point in his life into real spiritual growth. This is somethingthat Joseph, by his very nature, cannot do.

Thisdifference surfaces again when the Kingdom of Israel is divided in two, withthe House of Joseph and the House of Judah going separate ways. Upon readingthe assessment of the midrashim of the characters involved, it is clear whomour sages favored.

Yerovamis an exalted and impressive figure, a man chosen by God to rule over the tentribes of Israel. No matter what we think of him, he is certainly anextraordinary personality, as demonstrated by a series of talmudic anecdotes:He is capable of rebuking King Solomon when the latter is at the height of hisglory. When Yerovam is together with Achiyahthe Shilonite, all the wise men are like the grass of the field in comparisonwith them, andGod says to Yerovam, Repent, and then I and you and the son of Jesse willstroll together in the Garden of Eden.

FacingYerovam is Rechavam.Who is Rechavam?On the whole, he is a man who is a bit confused, who does not know what to doexactly with the fairly large kingdom that he inherited and which, throughill-advised harshness and imprudent softness, he manages to lose. Besides this,we are told little of Rechavam.

Nevertheless,Yerovam who certainly was a great man and a far greater scholarthan Rechavam isamong those who have no share in the World to Come. He sinned and caused othersto sin, and there is no way to atone for this. Rechavam may not have been arighteous king or an especially significant king, but he carried on the line ofthe House of David. No royal line of the kings of Joseph manages to last morethan a few generations. By contrast, the kings of the House ofDavid who certainly count some wicked men in their number areable to build a stable dynasty, and are able, ultimately, to persevere.

Elishab. Avuyah, the tannaitic apostate known as Acher (literally, Other), wassimilar to Yerovam in this sense. He was perhaps the most brilliant man of hisgeneration and was younger than all the other scholars with whom he wouldconfer. According to his own account,Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer attended his circumcision; thus, they werealready scholars when he was born. But Elisha b. Avuyah could not toleratea world that lacked perfection, and when he discovers that there are problemsin the world, he begins to fall apart. And when he falls apart, he cannotrecover from the fall.

Thisconception of perfection is reflected in a saying of his: One who learns whenyoung, to what may he be compared? To ink written on fresh paper. But one wholearns when old, to what may he be compared? To ink written on paper that hasbeen erased.Elisha b. Avuyah does not want to write on erased paper; he wants ink writtenon fresh paper. He is saying and this is part of hispersonality that since he has been erased once, he cannot rewritehimself. By contrast, Rabbi Akiva is like Judah, a peasant from anundistinguished family. Unlike Elisha b. Avuya, who came from one of theprominent families of Jerusalem, Rabbi Akiva was the son of converts.Throughout his life, Rabbi Akiva broke not just once but several times,including during difficult events in his personal life, yet he always overcamehis setbacks.

Joseph was a true tzaddik. Sometimes thisidentity is apparent in a persons character from birth, and it is immediatelyclear that this person is innately good. There is a type of personality forwhom perfection is innate. Jonathan, Sauls son, seems to fit thischaracterization he is a person with no apparent defects.

Letus note, however, that such a person a man who bears an aspect ofperfection by his very nature, who was born with all the great gifts and whoexercises them in perfect fashion must be judged by his ability toremain at this level. Possessing all the virtues is not enough if he is unableto rectify himself the moment he becomes flawed.

In nature, too, there are structures that do not reachperfection by way of development but, rather, emerge perfect from the outset.The Talmudmentions the possibility of using an egg to support the leg of a bed. Thistalmudic statement is strange and surprising. After all, even if this werepossible, who would use an egg to support the leg of a bed? But the truth isthat from a physical standpoint, an egg is one of the most perfect structuresin existence. The only problem is that an eggs strength depends on itscomplete integrity. It is like a dome: The moment one stone falls, the wholestructure collapses. This is often the nature of this kind of perfection: Itcan last only as long as there is no flaw.

Inthis sense as is evident from their interaction before and afterthis point the relationship of Joseph and Judah is that of a tzaddik anda baal teshuva.The story of Judah and Tamar compared to the story of Joseph and Potifars wifeis a striking example of this relationship.

Judahscharacter seems to deteriorate. He sells Joseph, which is a particularlydespicable act. His conduct with Tamar demonstrates a moral deficiency as well.Nevertheless, he is also capable of confronting Joseph Judah wentup to him. Here is a person who has quite a few matters on his conscience andan unsavory past. We might have expected him to sit quietly on the sidelines,but as we see, he takes action instead.

Judahnot only puts his life on the line but is also willing to face up to his pastactions. The wide gulf between those actions and his present conduct isprecisely what defines Judahs essence. The Midrashcomments that Joseph attempted rightfully to silenceJudah, asking him, Why are you speaking up? You are neither the eldest nor thefirstborn. So what are you doing? Let your eldest brother Reuben speak. Why doyou even have the right to open your mouth? Yet Judah, despite all hisbaggage, rises anew, ready to come to grips with whatever he must face. That isJudahs strength. By contrast, Joseph by nature and as a matter ofprinciple cannot change, cannot be flexible. He is a perfectionist,and this is precisely what breaks him.

TheTalmudrecounts an interesting conversation between Elisha b. Avuyah and Rabbi Meir.Elisha b. Avuyah asks Rabbi Meir to interpret the verse, Gold and glass cannotmatch its value, nor can vessels of fine gold be exchanged for it.Rabbi Meir responds, This refers to Torah matters, which, like vessels ofgold, are hard to acquire, but like vessels of glass are easily lost. Elishab. Avuyah says to him, Rabbi Akiva, your master, did not interpret that way,but, rather, Both vessels of gold and vessels of glass, if broken, can berepaired. One can melt them and form them anew. But there are vessels such as those of clay, mother of pearl, or even diamond that, afterbeing broken, remain forever broken. One cannot do anything about it; thedefect remains a defect.

Weread in MegillatEsther, But Mordechai neither bowed down nor prostrated himself.On the one hand, this conduct reflects his strength and glory; but on the otherhand, it gets him into trouble: According to the Talmud,the Jews became furious with him for not acquiescing to Hamans demands. Whydid you get us into all of this trouble? they cried. Bow down! Mordechai iscast in the same mold as his ancestors Saul and Joseph before him. He is calledMordechai the tzaddik,and tzaddikimoften cannot abide even the slightest flaw. Mordechais essential naturerequires that he be perfect.

Beforegoing out to his last battle, Saul knows that he and his sons are going to die,and he does not care. An aspect of strength and idealism accompanies this manthroughout his life even at his fall. Just like Elisha b. Avuyah,Saul does not act in half measures; if his flaws cannot be correctedcompletely, then he does not want them corrected at all. He aims for thehighest heights, but if he cannot achieve this, he will consign himself to thelowest depths. To go halfway is not an option.

Bycontrast, for someone like Judah the true baal teshuva theexistence of flaws is intrinsic to him and to his personality. If he did nothave flaws, he would not be who he is. The baal teshuva thrives on hisability to deconstruct his personality in order to reshape it in another form,to make changes within himself.

Judahbegins entirely from below. Like David, he comes from following the flock;he begins from nothing. Judah is neither the firstborn nor the most physicallyimposing of Jacobs children. However, he prevailed over his brothers (I Chr. 5:2), and hecontinuously perseveres, generation after generation.

Joshua and Caleb seem similar, to a large degree.However, though the Talmud likens Joshua to Moses, saying, Moses countenancewas like that of the sun; Joshuas countenance was like that of the moon, Joshua hadno children. Caleb had a son and a brother he had successors,generation after generation. Not all of his descendants were important orsignificant people, and most certainly did not measure up to his eminence, butCalebs essence lived on. When Joshua died, however, only a tombstone remained.After the tribes of Joseph were smashed and exiled, they did not return home.We who are basically the Kingdom of Judah had our firstTemple destroyed, but we built the Second Temple. We were exiled again for aperiod of time, but once again, we are returning.

WhereverJudah and Joseph interact, it is a meeting between perfection and adaptability.Throughout history, Joseph represents splendor, even heroism. In contrast,Judah is flawed and beleaguered, beset with difficulties; but in the end, Judahalways prevails.

At the end of the parshah, there is a sectionthat the commentators discuss extensively, even though it seems to have littleto do with the main theme of the parshah, and is connected to a different aspectof the relationship between Judah and Joseph.

Theentire final section of Parshat Vayigash is the story of how Joseph handlesEgyptian politics for Pharaoh and how he governs the Egyptians. That Joseph wasa powerful ruler over the entire land has already been stated, but here we finda whole story about how Joseph interacts with the Egyptians.

Shortlybefore this story, the Torah states, And he [Jacob] sent Judah before him untoJoseph, to show the way before him unto Goshen.Where do Judah and Joseph stand at this juncture?

Incontrast to Judah, Joseph is practically a king. He speaks seventy languages,while Judah no doubt stammers in the only language he knows. But that is notthe point. Here we see that Joseph acts not only in his own interest; rather,he tries to rectify the world. Joseph endeavors on behalf of the entire countryand puts it back on its feet. While Joseph is saving the country, Judah bringsthe family to the land of Goshen, where they organize themselves in their ownmatters. While Joseph is engaged in a great undertaking, Judah deals with thesmall matters: his flock, his herd, and the question of how to support thefamily.

Theinterpretation by our sagesthat Jacob sent Judah in order to establish a house of study does not affectthe analysis. The same conclusion emerges: Joseph is not just the mostsuccessful son in his family. He is a man who concerns himself with the wholeworld, while Judah concerns himself with parochial Jewish pursuits. WhereasJoseph is universal, Judah is only a Jew, engaging in his own pursuits and hisown matters.

Onthe surface it appears that Joseph, the man of the world, is the hero of thisnarrative, while Judah is of minor importance. Precisely here, the haftarahplays a crucial role, presenting the differences in the nature and character ofJudah and Joseph as fundamental distinctions between two parallel worlds. Whenthe Judah-Joseph duality is viewed under a different light, as it is in the haftarah,we see the world of Joseph who transcends his own individuality andrepresents a whole way of being and a world of Judah, whose essenceis that he begins from below, from crisis, from distress, and from the minutiaeof life.

WhatJoseph does almost instantly takes Judah several generations to accomplish.Even when Judah builds, the building is not straight; his progress ischaracterized by ups and downs. But which is the ideal path, the worldview thatwe should adopt and strive for? Neither the book of Genesis nor the Torah as awhole presents a clear answer to this question.

WhenJacob blesses his sons before his death and gives Judah and Joseph the biggestand most significant blessings, they are on equal ground, one facing the other.Evident in the blessings to Joseph is not just greater love for this son; theyare blessings of tremendous scope Jacob grants him heaven andearth: May your fathers blessing add to the blessing of my parents, to theutmost bounds of the everlasting hills. May they rest on Josephs head, on thebrow of the elect of his brothers.He gives him everything that can possibly be given. Correspondingly, Judahreceives eternity: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the rulersstaff from between his feet.Joseph is given grandeur, while Judah is given eternity.

Theconclusion is not found in this parshah, nor in the book of Genesis, nor anywhere in theentire Torah. The final reckoning is that of the Messiah: Who will be the trueMessiah? Since this reckoning moves back and forth over the generations, it isclear that Joseph and Judah are equals: It is the ultimate conflict between theperfect and the imperfect, between those who begin with a stacked deck andthose who forge themselves.

The haftarah presents Judah and Joseph as two branches, andthe conflict between them is not personal but, rather, a conflict betweenessential natures. It is very difficult for them to join together, because theyare two different character types that cannot be integrated.

Thehaftarahconcludes that in this disagreement, although from time to time the scales tipto the stick of Judah or the stick of Joseph, it is impossible to truly favorone side or the other. According to the haftarah, ideally the twoaspects should be able to work together, as the Likkutei Torah writesregarding the verse, We will add circlets of gold to your points of silver.

Inall the texts that deal with this subject, it is clear that there will be nosolution to this question until the end of days. This conflict, like thedispute for the sake of Heaven of Shammai and Hillel,will ultimately endure.

Whenwe say that these two aspects should go together, the meaning is not that theyshould be joined together like two planks, forcing each to adapt to the natureof the other. When the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph join together,they should each exist independently, but side by side, in the perfect harmonyof a string quartet. Judah and Joseph represent two different elements, each ofwhich retains its distinctness. The inevitable internal conflict in thiscoexistence is the very thing that creates the beauty.

InJosephs case, there is an element of great tragedy. People who possess thecharacter traits of Joseph are incomparable in their splendor and virtualperfection. They are radiant suns, but they have no way of recovering from afall. Must it always be that those of us who approach closest to perfection arealso the most fragile among us? Will the spiritual descendants of Joseph neverbe able to lift themselves up and repair themselves?

Apparently,until the end of time, these two types will remain: one who is characterized bywholeness and perfection, and one who is characterized by fault and repair; onewho draws his strength from his perfection, and the other, from the power ofrenewal. These two will never completely unite, but together they comprise thetension that makes our lives so vibrant. We live between Judah and Joseph, andwhen the two elements work in perfect tandem, the symphony of life is formed.

The rest is here:

Perseverence Vs. Perfection - An Essay on Vayigash - Kabbalah, Chassidism and Jewish Mysticism - Chabad.org

An unfortunate side-effect of Hanukkah approaching is the all too familiar flurry of posts by Christians on social media which include posting Hanukkah Menorahs with Christian messages, adding Yeshua and other messianic themes to Hanukkah items, and articles about why Christians should also celebrate the festival of lights. Regarding the latter, the most notable arguments from Christians is their idea of 400 years of silence, summed up perfectly by a tweet and blogpost authored by Michelle Van Loon:

Ive heard preachers say there were 400 years of silence between the last Old Testament prophet and the advent of Jesus as recorded in the N.T. gospels. Chanukah, which begins this Thursday at sundown, reminds us that this is stinkin thinkin.

Van Loon surmises, as do many Christians, that the salvation narrative is that and then there was 400 years of silence from God between the conclusion of the Old Testament prophet Malachis ministry until the birth of Jesus.

Van Loon argues that the silence was actually broken by the story of Hanukkah, within the books of Maccabees and discussed later in John10:22. However, Van Loon makes a critical error, as do any Christians that embrace this salvation narrative. The distinction between the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and Old Testament is paramount, and lost among far too many of our Christian colleagues. Straight to the point, Malachi is not the last book of the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, the final books of the Tanakh are 1st and 2nd Chronicles. When the Old Testament was translated from a Hebrew manuscript to Greek, the Church leaders rearranged the books of the Bible to fit their theological message, meaning that the prophets were moved to the end to create a smooth transition to their new prophet, Jesus. However, rearranging books does not change history. If we suppose that Malachi was written sometime in the 5th century BCE, and that Jesus was born in beginning of the 1st century CE, that does leave roughly 600 years of silence. Except, of course, that a great deal occurred between the 5th century BCE and the 1st century CE, including Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel, to name a few.

While it is also true that the books of Maccabees were written in between these years of silence, the book itself carries with it no stories of miracles, most notably the miracle of the oil lasting 8 days. The imagery of the Hanukkiah, the Hanukkah menorah, was invented by the sages of the Talmud, Shabbat 21b, as the story of Hanukkah within Maccabees (a book not included in the Hebrew Bible canon) was not Godly enough. One should then remember that the Talmud was deemed anti-Christian and burned by Christians after the 5th century. It seems questionable, then, why Christians would seek to embrace a story written in a book they condemn, in order to connect to a story about Jews fighting against assimilation.

In this holiday season when Christmas is all anyone can see, with Hanukkah nativity scenes, Hanukkah Christmas ornaments, messianic invasions and co-opting, it would be wonderful if Christians could focus on their holiday of joy, Christmas, rather than our minor holiday of Hanukkah. The story of the rebellion against the Seleucids and the victory of the Hasmoneans has nothing to do with Jesus, Christmas, or prophets. It is yet another story of Jews fighting off those who would seek to convert us. Unfortunately, the irony is lost upon the Christians who wish to take our side and find themselves in the story of the Maccabees, considering the first 1600 years of Christianitys existence was filled with genocide, torture, forced conversions, and exile for Jews.

For all these reasons, and more, I urge our Christian friends to just let Hanukkah be. You take Christmas, well take Hanukkah. Theres plenty of presents and food to go around.

Rabbi Michael Harvey was ordained by the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in 2015, and earned a Masters degree in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion and a Bachelors degree in psychology from Boston University. Enrolled at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, within the Doctor of Science in Jewish Studies program. Founder of "Teach Me Judaism": educational and animated Jewish lessons on scholarship: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4vNAB0lVE4munW_znGdEtQ

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You Take Christmas, I'll Take Hanukkah | Michael Harvey | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

By RABBI LAWRENCE S. ZIERLER

According to many historical sources, Chanukah represents the first battle for religious freedom after the Syrian Greeks tried to deny the small second Judean commonwealth its rights to practice and uphold Jewish life. This culminated in the success of the Maccabean military campaign in 168 BCE.

As part of restoring the sanctity of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which had been defiled by the enemy forces, the menorah (a seven-branched candelabra, a central religious symbol of that religious sanctuary) was rekindled with a remaining small cruse of sanctified oil. While appearing to be sufficient for only one day, it miraculously burned for eight, long enough to prepare more during the succeeding eight days of the temples rededication.

This then poses the question as to why on Chanukah the Jewish people light an eight-branched menorah, the Chanukiah, instead of the traditional seven-branched one. One Rabbinic source notes that, after entering the destroyed holy space and reclaiming its sanctity, the Jewish people celebrated with a torch-lit procession using eight iron spears that were found on the Temple grounds. Implements of war were converted into symbols of spiritual strength and light. This custom prevailed until the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE, after which the Jewish people would experience a 2,000-year period of exile from their homeland. Living among cultures often hostile to public religious expression, the Jewish people reduced and compacted the torch-lit parade of the past into a home-based ritual of lighting, using a much smaller but symbolic eight-branched menorah. Hence the custom and ritual that we are familiar with today.

In the principal text on this observancefound in the Talmud, tractate Shabbat 21bthe Rabbis debate the correct manner in which to light the Chanukiah during the eight-day holiday. The School of Shammai maintains that it should be lit in descending order, beginning with eight lights on the first night and decreasing by one on the subsequent seven days. The School of Hillel asserts that it be lit in ascending orderin Hebrew, moseif vholaychbeginning with one and adding one each day until there are eight lights aglow on the final day of the festival. The latter opinion prevailed and thus became the normative practice that still endures. This is also in keeping with the Jewish spiritual and legal concept that, in acts of holiness, we must strive to add to their measure. We endeavor to raise ourselves to greater spiritual heights and ritual holiness. We are challenged to increase our levels of cultural and social growth.

The implications of such an approach are no less relevant and compelling today than they were in Talmudic times when this ruling was made. In these trying and troubling times, when darkness abounds on account of any number of social illsnot the least of which is the current pandemic and its challenging demands on our global societythe concept of increasing growth in goodness is all the more beckoning and necessary. In one sense, such thinking might be seen as counterintuitive. After all, so many of our national and cultural celebrations begin on a high note and then diminish and disappearenjoyed in the moment before leaving us bereft of that spirit and excitement, but briefly experienced.

Instead, we might be better served by an attitude and worldview that can take a small light or ember and increase its strength and impact on life. The call to service and commitment to the wellbeing of society begins with simple steps and small acts of kindness. The concept of social justice and communal concern should be seen as a work in progress. The belief in a better world becomes more possible when we look upon it as a process. It is not a zero-sum game but rather an aspirational approach that celebrates possibilities even amid what could otherwise be social blindness and human darkness.

The small flask of oil that lasted for eight days instead of the anticipated one was discovered by an unidentified, anonymous Kohein, or priest, serving in the temple. His willingness to light the lamp despite a paucity of fuel speaks to an awareness that improvement, healing and help need not wait for ideal circumstances to occur but can take root in smaller efforts that can and will grow over time. Each of us can be moseif vholaych and bring greater light to life, hope and encouragement to those who hurt, as we step out of what are too often crippling comfort zones and away from our limited horizons.

Chanukahs message through the manner of the Chanukiahs kindling is to start small but think big. It encourages an expansiveness of heart and greatness of spirit. According to Jewish mystical thought, the number seven represents nature while eight stands for that which is beyond the usual and customary.

So, we start with one small light and add each day to its warmth and radiance. Instead of dwindling down in devotion and burning out of betterment, we build on our base. Perhaps these sentiments can best be captured in the simple but often ignored lesson that life is best experienced in tending to the fire rather than worshipping the ashes. May growth in goodness shine forth from our ever-increasing lamps of love for life and liberty, generously shared and nobly experienced.

Rabbi Lawrence S. Zierler is the president and CEO of Sayva Associates, an elder-care practice based in Sullivan County. He has served as a pulpit rabbi, hospital and hospice chaplain, Jewish educator and communal executive.

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All up in lights - The River Reporter

Hanukkah begins on Thursday nightand not a minute too soon.

At noon on Tuesday, every cellphone in Southern California buzzed with an emergency alert from the state office of emergency services: New public health stay at home order in your area. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Stay home except for essential activity. Wear a mask. Keep your distance.

There is darknessand we need light. There is worryand we need calm. There is isolationand we need community. There is an enemyand we need a miracle to overcome it.

Two thousand and fifty-five years ago, a small band of zealous Jews also faced darkness, worry, isolation, and a seemingly intractable enemy. The Syrian-Greek overlords had desecrated the holy Temple in Jerusalem, capturing the menorah, rendering the sanctuary dark. Mattathias and his five sons worried that some Jews were losing their religion by assimilating into the attractive Hellenistic culture. The Maccabees, isolated in Modiin, embarked on a seemingly quixotic guerilla war, overmatched and unlikely to succeed.

Miraculously, they defeated the Selucid army, entered Jerusalem in triumph and reclaimed the Temple. They relit the menorah and celebrated for eight days. Why eight? It was likely a kind of late Sukkot. Yet, the Hasmonean dynasty lasted less than two hundred years, falling to the Roman Empire which burned the Temple and Jerusalem to the ground in the year 70 C.E.

Although dispersed and defeated, the survivors nevertheless celebrated the triumph of the Maccabees, the memory of that improbable victory remained fresh in the popular imagination. They lit candles for eight nights in Kislev, the darkest month of the year. probably borrowing from other cultures that fought the darkness with light. The rabbis, uneasy with a celebration of militarism that ultimately led to disaster, sought to reinvent the reason for the holiday by asking a startling question in the Talmud: Mai Hanukkah? literally Why Hanukkah? The underlying question was: Whats the deal with this Hanukkah business? Unable to dissuade people from celebrating, they set about giving the holiday a new meaning, making God, not the Maccabees, the hero of the story and adding the miracle of a single vial of oil lasting eight days.

We need to reinvent Hanukkah again.

In every age, a hero or sage, came to our aid, the old Hanukkah song teaches. Who will our heroes be in this age? The frontline health professionals, the epidemiologists, the inventors of vaccines? The lights of Hanukkah, whether you believe in miracles or not, illuminate the darkest days of winter, a kind of shot in the arm. Couldnt we all use a shot in the arm right about now?

Light and dark a dialectic that defines the experience of life. On the very same day our phones lit up with a dark warning, they also broadcast V-Day in the United Kingdom, the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, director of the unprecedented rush to develop multiple vaccines, proclaimed theres a light at the end of the tunnel.

Yet, his counterpart in the U.K., Dr. Stephen Powis, warned of the rollout: its a marathon, not a sprint. It will take many months to fully inoculate the population. In the meantime, we will need to keep our distance and wear our masks, possibly until Hanukkah 2021.

Hope and fear another dialectic that defines the experience of life. In a famous Talmudic passage, a rabbi named Rava postulates that when we arrive in heaven, we are asked questions about how we lived our lives on earth. In my book The Seven Questions Youre Asked in Heaven (Jewish Lights Publishing), I explore these questions. One of my favorites is tzipita lishuah, literally did you hope for salvation? The key word is hope. Did you live your life in hopeor in fear? Theres a thin line between the two. But, throughout our history, we have chosen hope. The national anthem of the Jewish people is Ha-tikva the hope. We end our Passover Seder with words of hope: Next Year in Jerusalem.

God willing, next year on Hanukkah, we can gather again in our synagogues to celebrate the miracles of hope and resilience, of victory over this invisible enemy. I recently learned that many Black churches of the South mount an annual homecoming event inviting people to gather for a reunion. There is song, ritual and a meal. It is not just for the current members of the church; a special effort is made to welcome back former members. No questions asked just come on home. There is no denying the pandemic has caused a decline in synagogue membership, even in many of our largest congregations. On this Hanukkah, lets begin planning our homecomings for the next.

I get goosebumps just imagining these celebrations. We will turn on the lights of our darkened sanctuaries. We will fill the seats with young and old, raising our voices once again in a chorus of thanksgiving, unfettered by masks. We will be unafraid to touch, to hug, to kiss. We will light the hanukkiyah. We will experience a true hanukkah, a physical rededication of our sacred gathering places. We will praise the first responders, the doctors, the scientists, and all those who brought us through the pandemic. We will pray ancient words that have a new meaning: Praised are You, our God, sovereign of the universe, who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors in those ancient days at this season.

On Hanukkah this year, may God bless all those who shine light in the darkness, instilling hope in our hearts, bringing us to our next Hanukkah in joy, in happiness, in health.

Dr. Ron Wolfson is the Fingerhut Professor of Education at American Jewish University in Los Angeles. He is the author of Hanukkah: The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration and Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community (both Jewish Lights Publishing).

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

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Hanukkah This year and next - Forward