Hanukkah Prayers: How to Say the Menorah Blessings - Chabad.org
We are not the first to connect these two lights—the primordial light of creation and the Hanukkah light. The rabbis of the Kabala, the Jewish mystical tradition, claimed that these lights were one and the same, that the light we contemplate on Hanukkah is in fact the Or Genuzah (literally, “the light that was stored away”), the primordial light of
... See moreAlan Lew • Be Still and Get Going: A Jewish Meditation Practice for Real Life
It was decided that this time, too, eight days of dedicatory ceremonies and sacrifices would be held. The Maccabees also may have hoped that this rededication would be graced with a miraculous fire from heaven when the sacrifice was offered, as both Moses’ and Solomon’s
Irving Greenberg • The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays
Voting to trust their own experience as worthy and significant, the Maccabees decreed that Hanukkah, the dedication holiday, be celebrated annually for eight days, starting with 25 Kislev.
Irving Greenberg • The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays
We read in Torah that at the center of the mishkan was an ever-present fire burning on the altar: “Aish tamid tukad al hamizbe’ach, lo tikhbeh” — “a fire [that] shall always be kept burning on the altar, never to go out.”21 Here, on behalf of the people, the priests would offer gratitude for the gifts they received, atone for their missteps, and pr
... See moreAdina Allen • The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom
chanukat habayit, which means “dedication of the house.”