Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights. Nine burning candles remind us of the amazing victory of the Maccabees, high priestly heroes of the faith and Special Operations Forces of Israel over 2,000 years ago (see https://davidstent.org/maccabees-wanna-bes-and-fake-news-the-real-story-of-hanukkah/). Many of us think of Hanukkah as a kind of Jewish Christmas, with lights, scrumptious food and plenty of […]
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The Jewish Feast of Lights arrives this year on the eve of December 2 (according to the Gregorian calendar). The Hebrew name for Hanukkah (‘Dedication’) refers to the cleansing and re-dedication of the Second Temple by Jewish special forces on the 25th of Kislev 165 BC. In the Western world Hanukkah is often overshadowed and […]
Holiday preparations are in full swing. Christmas lights are strung up and blinking, sleighs and reindeer magically appear on suburban lawns; even the occasional Chanukah menorah (or chanukiya in Hebrew) glows brightly in Jewish homes for eight nights. Today very few adults believe in Santa Claus, though a significant amount do believe in the virgin […]
The United States of America is about to experience an unusual event – the Jewish Festival of Hanukkah and American Thanksgiving fall on the same day this year. Though this may not be the most significant world event this month (try the collapse of Western and UN resolve in the P5+1 accord with Iran), it […]