According to Halachah, we are not supposed to do any work while the Chanukah lights are burning. For that half hour, we should focus on the lights and try to connect to their meaning. In these times of financial setbacks and hardships, focusing on our spiritual existence takes on a greater significance.

• What is our true purpose in this life? Are we fulfilling, or even attempting to fulfill it?
• Are our careers and jobs a means to an end, or an end in and of themselves?
• Are we appreciating the fact that we have been blessed to live in circumstances and conditions immensely superior to those experienced by 98% of the rest of the world?
• Do we truly appreciate our children, parents, spouses, family, and friends?
• Are we placing our faith in God, or are we trying to totally control our destinies?
• Are we spreading light to the world around us?

After you light those holy Chanukah lights, make the next half hour special. Gaze at the lights and connect to the unbroken chain of Jewish history. Think about your life, and how you can add more meaning, and light, into it. Think about how you can be a light to those around you.

May this Chanukah be a time of light and blessing for us all.

Happy Chanukah!

There are many answers to this questions. A few of them are:

1. the first day was celebrated for the miracle of the military victory
2. the fact that they even found one tiny flask of pure oil was itself a miracle.
3. they only added an eighth of the oil each day

I’d like to share with you two answers that I really connect to.

1. The very fact that oil burns is a miracle. Nature is a miracle. We take it for granted that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night, that water puts out fire, and that oil burns. But why? It’s all miraculous, every aspect of nature, from the planets and stars to the blossoming of a flower. Chanukah is a time to recognize not only the once in a lifetime miracles, but the miracles that happen all around us every minute of the day. The miracle of nature.
2. The Jewish people had just gone through one of their most difficult periods. Persecution, death, war, personal hardships. When they finally managed to drive the Hellenist forces out of Jerusalem, they entered the Holy Temple only to find it desecrated and in ruin. They miraculously found a tiny flask of sealed holy oil, but they knew that it could only last for a day, so why bother? Why bother lighting the Menorah, the eternal light, when it will just be extinguished within the day? You see, the miracle is that they didn’t give up hope. Even though it looked hopeless, they lit the Menorah. They started over, from amidst the ruins and desecration. They never gave up hope. The Jews in the concentration camps and ghettos of the Holocaust also never gave up hope. Those that survived the destruction lit the tiny flask of oil that remained, and watched it miraculously burn, and continue to grow and spread light throughout the world.

There are two ways to view the kindling of the Menorah; the creation of fire or light. Fire consumes and purifies. It is usually the drastic tool of “last resort” to cleanse and purify. For example, fire is used to make metal objects that were used with non-kosher foods, kosher. The pagans and ancient Christians used fire to purify the souls of those deemed impure. Once fire consumes its target, fulfilling its mission, it ceases to exist. Light spreads and gains strength as it illuminates the darkness.
According to Shamai the Chanukah lights represent the aggressive yet cleansing and purifying attributes of fire. In order to save the Jewish people from spiritual destruction the Maccabees had to destroy the Syrian-Greek armies, liberate the Temple by force, and destroy the vestiges of Hellenistic culture in Israel. According to Shamai, who almost always propagates a stringent view regarding Jewish law and customs, Chanukah represents that idea of cleansing and purifying ourselves from those things that take us away from Judaism. At the beginning of the holiday we need the full force of the fires and fervor of purification while at the end, having succeeded, we only require a single flame.

According to Hillel the Chanukah lights represent the growth and spreading of Torah despite the trials and tribulations thrust upon us by our oppressors and the exile. The Jews under the yoke of the Hellenists started off weak in their faith and commitment but with the encouragement and leadership of the Maccabees were able to grow strong both physically and spiritually until they were able to throw of the Hellenistic influences and return to Torah. The gradual increase of lights on Chanukah represents this growth and spreading of the light of Torah. By the eight day we are strong enough to continue growing spiritually to the light of our faith and belief.

We follow the opinion of Hillel.

(This posting is based on the writings of Rav Shlomo Y. Zevin. It can be found in my book, “Deep Waters”.

Joseph is described by the Torah as being handsome and good looking. The wife of Potiphar went to great lengths to try and seduce him. The midrash tells us that he might, in his youth, have even been a bit too concerned with his appearance, always looking in the mirror and fiddling with his hair. When Jacob, on his death bed, blesses him, he refers to him as the handsome one. And yet, Joseph is the only biblical figure to be called Tzaddik by the sages. He was able to integrate his beauty with his life of holiness and spirituality.

Greece (Yavan) is the decendant of Yefet, which means beauty. The Greeks were obsessed with physical beauty, and denigrated the spiritual. They wanted to wipe out Judaism, because it highlighted spiritaulity. To the Greeks, it was one or the other: physical beauty or spirituality. Judaism believes in both: beauty and spirituality. Joseph exemplified that ideal, and left us an example to learn from and follow. We can love and appreaciate physical beauty, and incorporate it into our service of God.

The second kind of miracle is started “below” and is completed or fullfiled from “above”. The primary example of this kind of miracle is Chanukah. The Jews took up arms against their oppressors, and then God granted them victory over overwhelming odds. The Jews lit the Menorah in the Temple with only a tiny flask of pure oil, and God caused it to burn for eight days. The Chanukah miracles were instigated from “below”, by the Jewish people.

Chanukah is more than a time of miracles. It’s a time of instigating miracles. During this time God tell us to, so to speak, force Him to make miracles by taking the first step.

Chanukah is the time when we can make miracles happen. All we have to do is start the ball rolling. We can make miracles happen.

Happy Chanukah.

When we gaze at the Chanukah lights for eight days, we recognize that miracles can happen, that God is in control. We spread light into our own lives and into the world. But what happens when the holiday is over? Do we still believe in miracles? Do we continue to spread light?

The real message of Chanukah is to see the miracles around us and to spread light not just for eight days, but to continue doing so everyday of our lives.

This message can be applied to all the holidays, and all special events. For example, our wedding day and the following week of sheva brachot are exciting, but the real challenge is to make everyday of our marriage equally exciting.

May we be blessed with the ability to make the ninth day as special as the first.

Rabbi Pinchas Teitz Z”L, a great Rabbi and Scholar who was the founder and dean of the Yeshiva in Elizabeth, NJ that I attended for elementary and high school, used to address the student body of the Yeshiva every year during these Days of Repentance. Every year he repeated the same parable that touched my heart in its simplicity and depth and has stayed with me since.

Imagine taking a final exam that will decide your entire academic career. You’ve studied for the test but as you take it you become so nervous that you start forgetting all the material. You struggle through the exam and, with a heavy heart, you hand in your exam booklet with the almost certain knowledge that you got many of the answers wrong. You feel like a failure. Suddenly your entire class is called back into the exam room. The teacher makes an incredible announcement. Every student can take back his or her exam and change any answers that they think are wrong before returning it for grading. Can you even imagine that?! A second chance! A dream come true.

This is the essence of the Days of Repentance. Our judgment has been inscribed on Rosh Hashanah. We leave court dejected and afraid. Surely, judging by our actions of the past year, we have not merited a favorable verdict. All is lost. But then God calls us back and gives us our personal verdict book with the amazing opportunity to change its contents. We have the incredible opportunity, during these ten days, to rewrite our verdict before it is sealed on Yom Kippur. What a wondrous gift.

Let us all take this special gift and use these days to make changes in ourselves and our relationships with others. If we make a sincere effort right now we can be sure that the verdict that is sealed on Yom Kippur will be the right one for us.

** This essay can be found in Deep Waters: Insights into the Five Books of Moses and the Jewish Festivals

The traditional form of communication with God is through prayer. The Sages composed the traditional prayer service and hid within its words the secret formulas to unlock the mysteries of the heavens and the gates of atonement. In fact, the Torah in Genesis teaches that God created the world with the words, “Let there be light”. The Kabbalists derive from this that the letters of the Hebrew alphabet possess the power of creation. Therefore, for those who are capable, it is highly efficacious to pray in the original Hebrew syntax.

For those who cannot pray in Hebrew, the Talmud clearly teaches that the prayers can be recited in any language understood by the petitioner. What if the words of the prayer book simply do not stir the heart of the supplicant? Then he should use his own words to cry out to God from the depths of his emotions.

However, what if the person standing before the Creator is so broken with pain and sorrow that he cannot even utter a single word in prayer? What if no sound comes forth from his throat, as hard as he might try to scream out?

King David, in the Psalms, says, “I am a prayer”. What does this mean? For example, when you encounter a homeless beggar on the street with his hand outstretched, palm facing up, he doesn’t need to deliver a fundraising pitch to let you know that he is in desperate need. All you need to do is to take one look at him to know he needs your help. His whole presence screams out to you. This is exactly what King David is saying. His whole physical being was transformed into a supplication without even uttering a single word.

On Rosh Hashanah the sounding of the shofar is our deepest and most powerful prayer because it transcends words and emanates from the depths of every Jewish soul regardless of linguistic or oratorical skill level. The same is true when we join together in a Niggun, which is a song with no words.

On Yom Kippur our fasting transforms our bodies into humble vessels of supplication. Therefore, when we come before God on Yom Kippur with broken hearts and shattered egos, humbly bowed before Him with outstretched hands like simple beggars, we ourselves become prayers. Our very presence cries out to God for health, love, success, peace and salvation. No words are necessary.

May God bless us all with the strength to be able to cry out to Him in whatever way we are best able to and may He answer all of our prayers and seal us all in the Book of Life.

** This essay can be found in Deep Waters: Insights into the Five Books of Moses and the Jewish Festivals

Today is the fast of Asarah BiTevet, which commemorates the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem during the First Temple period. Although that event may not directly touch our emotions, the battle that Israel is fighting must. The fast day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the current situation, and on our own lives. Are we doing all that we can to help our people? Are we leading our lives according to the high standards of our Torah, and thereby strengthening the spiritual fortitude of our nation?

Today’s fast is our chance to strengthen Israel with our own spiritual energy.

The man returned home and told his wife what happened. He then went out to think of a plan to raise the funds. While he was gone his wife gathered all the silver utensils in the house and went to the market to sell them. She brought back the coins and spent the entire evening polishing them. When the man returned home his wife presented him with a bag of coins. The next morning the man brought the coins and gave them to the Rebbe. When the Baal Shem emptied the coins onto the table he was taken aback by their shining brilliance. He blessed the man and asked how the coins had gotten so shiny. The man had no answer.

When the man returned he told his wife what had happened at the Rebbe’s and asked her where she had found such shiny coins. The wife answered that the coins weren’t shiny when she got them. However, since she knew that they would be in the presence of the Rebbe she stayed up for hours polishing them until they sparkled.

In a few weeks we will all stand in the presence of the All Mighty…Our Father, Our King. Even though we might be a bit dirty we should take this opportunity to polish ourselves up a bit so that we can shine before Him. Let’s pick one or two things that we feel we can “polish” in ourselves and work on them for the next couple of weeks. Even if we feel we won’t be able to keep it up for the long term at least we will be shiny and polished for the High Holy Days. It’s not hypocritical; it’s just taking one small step at a time and being the best we can be right now.

** This essay can be found in Deep Waters: Insights into the Five Books of Moses and the Jewish Festivals