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March 25, 2024 – 8:50 pm | Comments Off on Why We Must Resist The Cease Fire Resolution33 views

Tzav: Fighting Evil
We are surrounded by evil; every so often, it rears its ugly head as it did on Simchat Torah—the October 7 massacre. Pure evil raped Jewish mothers, burned Jewish babies alive, mutilated their fathers, and beheaded their neighbors. Pure evil burned loving couples clinging to each other, to …

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Articles in Chanukah

Chanukah: One Battle at A Time

December 3, 2023 – 8:23 pm | Comments Off on Chanukah: One Battle at A Time191 views
one battle

The Maccabees won the war one battle at a time. The odds they took on were impossible, but they never thought about the future escalations. Their only concern was with the battle in front of them.
Their first military skirmish was against a minor garrison of soldiers. It was not difficult …

You Are Good

December 17, 2022 – 10:04 pm | Comments Off on You Are Good625 views
you are good

The Chanukah lights broadcast a simple message: you are good. Sometimes we think that if we lose our job, our relationships fail, we succumb to addiction, or are plagued by obsessions, if we are afflicted by doubts and insecurity, if we are sensitive and easily hurt, if we are manipulative …

The Modern Chanukah

December 10, 2022 – 9:34 pm | Comments Off on The Modern Chanukah3,511 views
modern-chanukah

I want to tell you about the modern Chanukah message, but first we must begin with the old Chanukah tale.
“The strong in the hands of the weak, the many in the hands of the few.” This is how our liturgy describes the Chanukah miracle. The strong are the Syrian Greek …

Chanukah: The Dreidel

November 27, 2021 – 7:49 pm | Comments Off on Chanukah: The Dreidel12,098 views
dreidel

The dreidel for Chanukah and the gragger (Ra’ashan) for Purim have the exact same structure, have you ever noticed? Both have a round bulb from which a stem protrudes. The difference is that the dreidel’s stem protrudes from the top of the dreidel and points upward, the gragger’s stem protrudes …

Chanukah: The Unstable Flame

December 5, 2020 – 10:19 pm | Comments Off on Chanukah: The Unstable Flame1,155 views
unsteable-flame-innerstream.ca

Oils that produce an unstable flame may not be used for Shabbat candles because Shabbat candles must be stable and pleasant. An unstable flame that rises and dips, a flame that is constantly on the verge of extinction causes anxiety and Shabbat candles are meant to be peaceful and pleasing.
However, …

Chanukah: Spice Up Your Routine

December 21, 2019 – 11:16 pm | Comments Off on Chanukah: Spice Up Your Routine1,541 views
routine-innerstream.ca

Routine can be boring. You do it every day and you grow tired of it. We are always looking for something new and exciting. Something to pique our interest and engage our curiosity. Routine doesn’t do the trick. We need something novel, something unusual, something unexpected. The problem with new …

Chanukah: Light in the Dark

December 2, 2018 – 9:50 pm | Comments Off on Chanukah: Light in the Dark1,848 views
light-innerstream.ca

The Chanukah candles usher light into darkness and warmth into cold. They are kindled as the sun sets and they are placed strategically in the window or doorway to catch the attention of passerby. This point is essential to Chanukah candles. After the streets have emptied of foot traffic, one …

Chanukah: The True Heroes

December 9, 2017 – 11:09 pm | Comments Off on Chanukah: The True Heroes2,347 views
true-heroes-innerstrem.ca

The Women
The miracle of Chanukah has true heroes, and though we usually think of the Maccabees and the priests who kindled the miraculous lamps in the Temple, Chanukah’s true heroes are the women and children.
The Talmud tells us that although positive commandments bound by particular times, are usually non-binding on …