by Chaim Barzel | f 19, 2022 | Chanukah, Faith, Redemption, Temple, Tenth of Tevet, Tevet
The Month of Tevet The Hebrew month of Tevet is the tenth month of the Hebrew year. The name Tevet (טֵבֵת) is the Babylonian name of the month, which the Jews began to use during the Babylonian exile. Tevet, which generally overlaps with the Gregorian solar months of...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 19, 2022 | Chanukah, Daniel, Messiah
Every Jew knows the basis for our system of holidays: They came and tried to kill us. They failed and disappeared in the sands of time. We’re still around. Let’s eat. Indeed, Jacob’s dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven has been interpreted as...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 5, 2022 | Antisemitism, Chanukah, Chosen Nation, God, Prayer, Psalms, Tests and Trials
Hanukkah is quickly approaching and I am reminded of a joke my father, of blessed memory, used to tell every year after lighting the candles. With the doughnuts and potato pancakes arranged on the table and waiting to be eaten, my dad would announce, “They tried to...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Chanukah, Miracles, Purity, Temple, Tetzaveh
When God instructs the Children of Israel to make the menorah, He tells them to gather oil “for kindling lamps regularly” (Exodus 27:20). Rashi explains that the light was to be lit all night, every night, though not necessarily during the day. The lights...
by Eliyahu Berkowitz | f 6, 2021 | Chanukah, Israel, Temple, Vayechi
The Hanukkah story is clearly one of conflict, pitting the underdog Judeans against the powerful Seleucids and King Antiochus IV. The Judeans were also up against their Hellenized brethren who actively sought to end the Temple service and the observance of the Torah’s...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 5, 2021 | Chanukah, Israel, Vezot Haberachah
The modern city of Modi’in was established in the 1990s about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem and about halfway between Israel’s capital and Tel Aviv. Modi’in was not mentioned in the Bible or in the Mishna so little is known about its history. The modern city of...
