Giving gifts on 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. has become common practice for many American Jews, especially those with children in their households. Many of us struggle with how to do this well—we want to give generously and joyfully, but we don’t want Hanukkah to lose its deeper meaning to the rampant materialism that haunts America’s holiday season. In this section we offer ways to give with an open hand and a heart full of intention.
Tips on how to ritualize giving tzedakah during your Hanukkah celebration, including a kavannah to recite when giving tzedakah
In this immersion, we will reflect and expand on our personal experiences of identity, using writing exercises and in-depth discussions to think about, challenge, discover, explore, and experiment with different ways to identify ourselves, to consider how those ways connect us to and separate us from others, and how they represent and misrepresent aspects of who we are.
Four sessions, starting June 15th
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