On the first night of Chanukah all eight candle holders stand before you. But you light only one. Tomorrow night you shall light two. You know that eventually you will light all eight.
From which we learn two things:
1. Move step by step in life. Take things on at a pace you can handle.
2. Always grow. Always keep moving. If you did one good thing yesterday, do two today. Your ultimate achievement is always one step ahead.
[via Chabad.org]
Holtzberg and Madoff : Choose Light or Choose Darkness
[By Simon Jacobson]
A case study in contrast.
Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg. Bernard L. Madoff.
Gavriel and Rivka brought light into people’s lives, and created a global Kiddush Hashem (sanctifying G-d’s name) when they were brutally butchered by agents of darkness simply for being Jewish. They personified the Jewish virtues of charity and kindness, illuminating everyone they could reach. In the wake of their murders, which touched a deep chord, a wave of good deeds reverberated around the world.
Bernard Madoff brought darkness into people’s lives, and created a global Chilul Hashem (desecrating G-d’s name) when he massacred the financial security – and trust – of many individuals and organizations, killing in one fell swoop various charities and damaging many others, and destroying the trust in the future of all investments. He personifies greed, selfishness and self-indulgence. In the wake of his contemptible behavior, in which he single-handedly eroded the confidence necessary to keep markets alive, people are left stunned and distraught. We are wondering how far this will unravel, how many others will be implicated, and above all, what will be the resulting consequences – how will this affect the future of the entire nature of investments, hedge funds and trust in money managers?
We could not have found a starker example epitomizing the two diametric extremes on the spectrum of human behavior: the heights of ultimate nobility and self-sacrifice in Mumbai, being killed in the service of others; the depths of ignobility and self-interest in New York, hurting others in the service of oneself, cheating his own people, friends and colleagues, exploiting the trust of holocaust survivors and confidantes.
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[via Rabbi Zalmen Marozov]
Chanukah begins Sunday night. Sunday night we will kindle one candle, then each night we will light an additional candle until we light the full eight candles.
The Talmud records four different opinions about the proper way to light the Chanukah lights. Some sages say that one candle is lit for the entire household each night of Chanukah. Another opinion is that each member of the family lights one candle each night.
But the Talmudic sages, Hillel and Shamai, say that the number of candles change each night of Chanukah. However, they hold opposite opinions. Shamai maintains that on the first night of Chanukah we light eight candles, seven on the second night, six on the third and so on until the last night of Chanukah we light only one candle.
According to Shamai, the number of candles each day represent the days of Chanukah which are left to celebrate, rather than the days which already passed.
But the Talmudic sage Hillel is of the opinion that we kindle one candle the first night, two candles the second night, three the third etc. Hillel explains that we must increase the light each night, for in matters of holiness, such as mitzvot, we must increase – to go higher and higher, not down”.
We follow Hillel’s injunction by adding a candle each night of Chanukah. The Chanukah candles teach us an important lesson; that in matters of good deeds, holiness and mitzvot, we must go from strength to strength.
Q. The heroes of Chanukah were the Macabees. What does the word “Macabee” mean?
A. Macabee is an acronym for the words of the Torah: “Mi Kamocha Ba’elim Hashem” – “Who is like you among the powerful O’ G-d”. This was their slogan as they went our to war, expressing their complete trust in G-d.
Macabee also stands for: Matisyahu Kohen Ben Yochanan – Matisyahu the Priest, son of Yochanan. Matisyahu (the High Priest) and his five sons led the revolt against the occupying forces and were heroes of Chanukah..
Q. Shabbat, circumcision, and Rosh Chodesh were among the mitzvot that were prohibited at the time of the Chanukah story. How do the eight-day Chanukah celebration express our gratitude to G-d for these mitzvot?
A. As a result of Chanukah being eight days, Shabbat always falls out once and sometimes twice during Chanukah. The 8 days of Chanukah remind us of the eighth day of circumcision. And Chanukah always includes Rosh Chodesh. In fact, Chanukah is the only holiday which begins in one month (Kislev) and ends in another (Tevet), thus Rosh Chodesh is part of Chanukah.
Via Rabbi YY Jacobson, Algemeiner.org
There is a lovely tradition of playing dreidel during the festival of Chanukah.
What is a dreidel? It is a four-sided top, containing the four Hebrew letters of Nun, Gimmel, Heh and Shin. The four sides join to form a point, upon which the dreidel spins (1).
All Jewish customs contain profound spiritual meaning. Today we will discuss the deeper symbolism behind the dreidel game.
The Five Components
Jewish philosophy and mysticism teaches that human behavior is driven by four primary factors: ego, bodily urges, reason and a compulsion to destroy.
Each of us has an ego — a craving for power, self-dominance and self-determination. All of us experience incessant demands from our bodies. We all have the power of reason, the ability to try and make sense out of reality. And, each of us has a compulsion toward evil and destruction. For many of us, this impulse finds expression merely in a dream or a fleeting thought; for others, it is actualized in behavior.
This last impulse is unique in the sense that it rarely displays its genuinely disturbing face to the man who experiences it. Our compulsion toward evil usually disguises its demeanor behind the veil of the other three human qualities. It uses the ego, bodily needs or human reason as a means to explain and justify its abominable goals. Yet at the root of this urge is a simple craving toward evil and destruction, rooted in the human psyche.
Beneath these four familiar components of our personality lies a fifth and deeper dimension, known in Kabbalah as the “higher self,” or the “inner self.” This is the moral conscience of the human spirit — the spark of G-d within us — that drives us to transcend ourselves and attemot to touch the truth of reality. This inner self inspires human idealism and reflects the goodness and integrity of its Creator.
If the four elements of the human engine are detached from the higher divine self, potentially each can become dangerous. A self-serving ego can drive us to destroy those who are standing in our way. Our bodily urges and temptations can plunge us into the abyss. Excessive self indulgence breeds addiction and chaos.
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Chanukah : A Universal Holiday
Via Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Meaningful Life Center
One of the great myths and stereotypes about Judaism is that it is a religion, and specifically a religion for Jews.
Judaism is one thing with the Torah, and Torah too suffers from a stereotype: That it is a religious book for Jews.
In actuality, Judaism is not a religion. Nor is it a culture, a race, an ethnic group or a historical phenomenon. Judaism is a way of life and Torah is a universal blueprint for all life.
This does not negate the fact that the Torah addresses the specific role of Jews, as it addresses all aspects of existence. Like a true blueprint, the Torah lays out a plan for every detail of our multifarious universe. At Sinai the Divine mandate was delivered with a voice that rang across one end of the globe to the next, declaring a comprehensive roadmap for the entire human race and the entire world to achieve personal and global redemption.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the holiday of Chanukah. The festival of Chanukah commemorates the victory that occurred over 2000 years ago when a small band of Jews, in the name of freedom from oppression and freedom of religion, battled the largest army in the world and were victorious. The essential theme of Chanukah, thus, could not be more universal: Freedom – celebrating the dominance of spirit over matter; the transformation of darkness into light; and the victory of the virtuous few over the corrupt majority.
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Chanukah 5767
© Rabbi David Lapin, 2006, iawaken.org
Magic Moments
We beautify our Chanukah Lights: we buy glamorous Menorot, and use the purest of oil or the most beautiful of candles. But we never get the joy of the splendor we create! Immediately after lighting, and singing Ma’oz Tzur, we rush off and miss the magic moments of savoring their beauty. We are in too much of a rush! We have too much to do!
Yet only moments before, we piously said: “Ein Lanu Reshut LeHishtameish Bahem, Elah Lir’ottam Bil’vad” (We do not have permission to make use of the Chanukah Lights, only to watch them). We are not intended to light the Menorot and then disappear, nor may we do our work by their light. The lights are there for aesthetic purposes Lir’ottam to watch them, reflect on them, and enjoy them.
It takes effort to create moments or objects of beauty. But the art is not only in their creation; it is also in knowing how to savor them and be nourished by them. That takes investment too. That requires time. Calm time; tranquil time to absorb the beauty into ones being. It is a little like the art of the enjoyment of good wine. It takes a lot of skill, effort, time and money to create a bottle of really good wine. But what is the value of that wine, if some undiscerning individual gulps it down like a soda? Good wine needs time to be enjoyed. You need to calm your mind and settle your thoughts as you focus on the wine’s color, its bouquet and the subtle complexity of its tastes as you sip it, slowly, holding it in your mouth for a few moments to fully experience its richness. Those are the magic moments of the wine experience that make the years of preparation worthwhile.
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