Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Chanukah resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.
Why Aren't the Books of the Maccabees in the Tanach?
Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz
Mondays December 12 & 19
11:00 am Eastern, 6:00pm Israel
Hanukah is the only festival that doesn't have a biblical book associated with it. Why? We'll look at what…
Letters from Chanukahs and Purims Past: Revisiting the Establishment of Holidays and Judea-Diapora Relations
Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich
Wednesday December 14
12:00pm Eastern 7:00pm Israel
In the second and first century BCE, Judean leaders in Jerusalem…
Rav Kook on "Can Maccabees and Hellenists Get Along?"
Rabbi Ari Shvat
Mondays December 12 & 19
1:30pm Eastern, 8:30pm Israel
Rav Kook, one of the most innovative thinkers of the past century, is known for his approach of harmonizing the apparent…
For better or worse, in the minds of many—Jew and non-Jew alike—Chanukah and Christmas are two sides of a similar, if not the same, coin. Chanukah is often identified as the mechanism by which Jews celebrate the holiday season, and Christmas as the…
There is no more powerful symbol than light in our tradition. It is how we usher in the Shabbat, march down the wedding aisle, mark the yahrzeit of a loved one. Light is the symbol of spirituality which, unlike matters physical, is not diminished…
Mai Chanukah? What is Chanukah? the Talmud (Shabbat 21ba) queries, a question we find with respect to no other holiday. The Talmud explains that Chanukah celebrates the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days, allowing the needed time to…
Before there were clocks and standard time, time was determined in relation to the position of the sun—hence, the importance of the sundial. As a rule our Sages followed this course, teaching, for example, that one may daven mincha …
One of the painful realties of Jewish life is that the Jewish people are often judged by a double standard. What in other cultures is done with impunity often causes an uproar when it is the State of Israel doing the exact same thing. While…
One of the painful realities of Jewish life is that the Jewish people are often judged by a double standard. What in other cultures is done with impunity often causes an uproar when it is the State of Israel doing the exact same thing. While…