Her’s yet another Chanuka story to share.
Tag Archives: Chanuka
Spread the Light of Chanuka
Generally, we consider winter to be the ‘dark season’. This year with the war between Hamas and Israel, I consider things to be really dark.
The Festival of Lights
Tonight will be the first night of Chanuka, the 25th day of Kislev. For those of you who celebrate Christmas, you might recognize that number- 25. That date wasn’t chosen by accident by the first Christians. (It also explains why this is one of the few- the very few- holidays Christians celebrate on the “eve”- because it derives from the Jewish rule that a day is one evening and one morning….The others are New Year’s and Easter.)
We celebrate Christmas Today
Merry Christmas. Yes, I know it’s the 23rd- but most companies consider today and Monday to be holidays, since Christmas lands on a Sunday.
The Festival of Lights
So, today is the first day (last night was the first night) of Chanuka. This holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights: many of us light multiple chanukiyas (Chanuka Menorahs), and some of us actually use oil and not candles for the illumination source.
Chanuka is almost here
This Sunday will be the first night of Chanuka. Its English calendar date is not fixed; Chanuka always falls on the 25th day of Kislev, which has a different English date every year. (This year, the first night is the 18th of December.)
The Festival of Lights
Last night was the first night of Chanuka, the 25th day of Kislev. Today is the first day. (You do recall the Tora defines a day- there was evening, there was morning, one day; all days begin at the evening, for when the world was all dark, before the Sun illuminated the sky by the decree of the Supreme Being.)
The First of Eight!
So, it’s Chanuka.
There are plenty of stories about the holiday in the Talmud- but those were codified 400, even 500 years after the event.. We Jews have decided that the Book of Makabi (the second book is not contemporary) should not be part of our canon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from contemporary accounts of the event.
So, this is Christmas
Merry Christmas. The last one of the decade. To you. Not me. It’s not my holiday. Nor have I ever considered celebrating.
The first Chanuka?
So, it’s Chanuka. Moreover, tomorrow night (Shabat) and the next day (from Friday night through Sunday at dusk) are also another holiday, the new moon (Rosh Chodesh) of Tevet.