HanukkahThe holiday which celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem following its conquest by the Syrians in 165 BCE. The holiday is celebrated by lighting candles in a hanukiyah oon each of eight nights. Other customs include the eating of fried foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts), playing dreidl (a gambling game with a spinning top), and, in present day America, gift giving. 2024
Look up from your candles, see the shadows on the walls
Watch how thy dance as the candles melt
How the dance slows as the candles sputter and fade
Now, look up from your candles
and see that there is a Light which doesn’t fade
In a world of wars without endings
In a world of where antisemitism has become the norm
In a world of hatred, bias, judgement and blame
Look up from your candles
and see that there is a Light which doesn’t fade
For eight nights we will celebrate a miracle
Each night is a small miracle unto itself
A Festival of lights, of smells, of tastes, and of joy
And when the candles have faded and the festival ends,
the shadows of despair will dance on the walls once more
This world is challenging us to step out of the shadows
To decline the invitations to hate
To see those who are never seen
To remember the miracle of our candles
and see that there is a Light which doesn’t fade
As we light the Hanukkiah, we pray for peace v’al kol tevel
May these lights allow us to review our own behaviors
AbrahamAbraham is the first patriarch and the father of the Jewish people. He is the husband of Sarah and the father of Isaac and Ishmael. God's covenant - that we will be a great people and inherit the land of Israel - begins with Abraham and is marked by his circumcision, the first in Jewish history. His Hebrew name is Avraham. welcomed the stranger and the traveler into his tent
May we remember to open our doors to them now
Before it is too late, before we close off our hearts
On this Hanukkah, let us look up from our candles,
and see that there is a Light which doesn’t fade
Let us see the shadow’s dance,
Let us raise our voices in songs of tradition
To Adonai, The Light which never fades
Baruch atah Adonai, oheiv amo Yisrael.
