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 …
Sin and Atonement
This week’s Parsha teaches that when a Jew commits a sin inadvertently he must bring a sin offering to atone for his violation.Why must a Jew be taken to task for an innocent mistake? Say, for example, he kindles a fire on Saturday not remembering that it was …
Chametz and Matzah
On Passover we celebrate our ancestors’ exodus from Egypt. When our ancestors left Egypt they left in great haste. They didn’t have time to properly bake bread before they left and consequently ate unleavened bread for their first days of travel.In commemoration of this fact, the Torah commands …
Content to Take
Inherent in human nature is the desire to make our own way in life. Constant dependence on the largess of others is abhorrent to us. How many children of Billionaires opt for a life of leisure and constant dependence? Most want to contribute to their parents business or …
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …
