KEHILLAT CHOVEVEI TZION SHABBAT and CHANUKAH SERVICES

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2 KEHILLAT CHOVEVEI TZION SHABBAT and CHANUKAH SERVICES December January 2016 Kislev - Tevet 5776 Shabbat Vayetze Friday Saturday Shabbat Vayishlach Friday Saturday Shabbat Vayeshev Friday Saturday November 20 6:00 PM November 21 9:00 AM November 27 6:00 PM November 28 9:00 AM December 4 6:00 PM December 5 9:00 PM Chanukah 5776 Sunday evening, December 6 Shabbat Miketz (Shabbat Chanukah / Rosh Chodesh Tevet) Light Chanukah candles before Shabbat Shabbat candle lighting is 4:06 PM Friday Saturday December 11 6:00 PM December 12 9:00 AM Shabbat concludes at 5:13 PM. Light Chanukah candles after Shabbat Shabbat Vayigash Friday Saturday Shabbat Vayechi Friday Saturday December 18 6:00 PM December 19 9:00 AM December 25 6:00 PM December 26 9:00 AM Shabbat Shemot Friday January 1 6:00 PM Saturday January 2 9:00 AM Shabbat Va era Friday January 8 6:00 PM Saturday January 9 9:00 AM Shabbat Bo Friday Saturday January 15 6:00 PM January 16 9:00 AM Shabbat B shallach Friday January 22 6:00 PM Saturday January 23 9:00 AM Kehillat Chovevei Tzion Route 25A at Nicolls Road P.O. Box 544 East Setauket, NY 11733

3 8 Kislev 5776 November 20, 2015 Chanukah recalls miracles, history, dedication and resolve. Kehillat Chovevei Tzion continues to have an exciting impact on its member families, friends and community. As an all-volunteer, lay-lead independent Kehillah, the challenges are many and the rewards are uplifting. The warmth of smallness with the passion of deep commitment spill across all of the Shabbat and Yom Tov services, special occasion events and educational programming throughout the year that bring us together in communal study and celebration. The passionate closeness that marks life-cycle events extends the reach of family into community. We are delighted to be able to bring to you at various times throughout the year, these thematic and holiday preparation booklets for your enjoyment and personal study with friends, family and neighbors. Speaking of friends and neighbors... Why not bring them with you to the next Shabbat service or to one of the exciting upcoming social and educational events? Be sure to stay informed about all happenings via the KCT listserv and the website ( Being here, learning, speaking encouragingly of the activities, providing transportation to services and assistance in managing the needs of the Kehillah, sharing thoughts for improvements and for new programs, providing tzedakah to nourish the fiscal needs of KCT and its diverse program... all are the welcome expressions of dedication to the goals of the Kehillah that are most urgently sought as we approach in the coming weeks, the historic rededication symbolized by the Chanukah period. The Trustees of KCT and their families join in bringing you our best wishes for an uplifting and meaningful Chanukah celebration. L hitraot, Rona Dressler Elaine Ehrenberg Harvey Goldstein Douglas Lee Karen Mann Burt Schwartz Martin Vitberg Herman Werner, President Cherie Zager

4 Please be aware that this booklet contains full blessings including HaShem s name. Should you print it out and no longer wish to retain the printed booklet, please take care to dispose of it properly..... Kindling the Lights Washington DC Mall photo courtesy of Chabad. Kindling the menorah lights for each of the right nights of Chanukah, is the most important Chanukah custom. Jews light the candles to remember the miracle of the Maccabees' victory and the miracle of the oil that burnt for eight days in the holy Temple. The Menorah should have eight candle holders in a row all at the same height, and a separate candle holder for the Shamash. The Shamash candle is used to light the other eight candles, since it is forbidden to use the Chanukah lights for any purpose other than viewing. To best publicize the miracle, the Menorah is ideally lit outside the doorway of your house, on the left side when entering. If this is not practical, then the Menorah should be lit in a window facing the public thoroughfare. If the Menorah cannot be lit by the window, it may be lit inside the house on a table, which at least fulfills the mitzvah of "publicizing the miracle" for members of the household. The Menorah should preferably be lit immediately at nightfall (Sundays through Thursdays). If necessary, however, the Menorah can be lit late into the night. It is best to wait until all members of the household are present to light the Menorah. It should remain lit for at least 30 minutes after nightfall. On Friday afternoon, the Menorah should be lit before sundown, before lighting the Shabbat candles. On Saturday night, the Menorah should be lit after reciting Havdalah, concluding Shabbat. On the first night, place one candle in the Menorah's far right (as you face the Menorah) candle holder. Another candle is placed for the Shamash. Recite the blessings below and then light the candle using the Shamash candle. First Blessing... Baruch atah Ado..noy, Eloheynu melech ha olom asher kid shanu b mitsvotav, v tzivanu l hadlik ner chel Chanukah. Amen! Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah. Second Blessing... Baruch atah Ado..noy, Eloheynu melech ha olom she aso nissim l avoteinu ba yamim ho heym bazman ha zeh. Amen! Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season. Third Blessing (only on the first night of Chanukah) Baruch atah Ado..noy, Eloheynu melech ha olom she hecheyanu v ki manu ve higi'anu lazman ha zeh. Amen! Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

5 Note: On the second through eighth nights... As shown in the diagram above, as you face the Menorah... Place additional candles right to left... light the candles each night left to right! Say the first two blessings and then light the candles using the Shamash. Light the left-most candle first and then light in order, from left to right. Follow this procedure for each night of Chanukah. While lighting the candles themselves, songs like Hanerot Halalu (see below) or verses from Al HaNissim are traditionally recited Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) Maoz Tzur, which translates from the Hebrew as "Rock of Ages", is traditionally sung after reciting Chanukah blessings and lighting the candles. Maoz Tzur is an acrostic poem with six stanzas. The first letter of each of the first five stanzas spells the poet's name, Mordechai, in Hebrew (mem, reish, dalet, kaf, yud). The first stanza thanks God for deliverance from our oppressors. The next three stanzas tell the story of the exodus from Egypt and the liberation from Babylonia, Persia, and Syria. The fifth verse recounts the story of Chanukah, and the sixth stanza speaks of the coming age of Mashiach. Hanei rot ha lo lu anu mad li kin Al ha te shu ot v al ha nisim v al ha nif la ot, She a see ta la avo tei nu ba ya mim ha heim biz man ha zeh, Al ye dei ko hanecha ha kedoshim. V chol shemonat y mei chanukah, haneirot halalu kodesh hem, V ein lanu re shut lehish ta meish ba hen, E la lirotan bil vad, ke dei lehodot u lehaleil l shimcha hagadol Al ni secha v al nifle otecha v al ye shuotecha. We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers in those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Chanukah, these lights are sacred and we are not permitted to make ordinary use of them. But only to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name for your miracles, your wonders and your salvations. Once the candles have been lit, Maoz Tzur is traditionally sung (See the next article).

6 Transliteration: 1. Ma-oz Tzur Y shu-a-ti Le-cha Na-eh L sha-bei-ach Ti-kon Beit T fi-la-ti V sham To-da N za-bei-ach L eit Ta-chin Mat-bei-ach Mi-tzar Ha-mi-na-bei-ach Az Eg-mor B shir Miz-mor Cha-nu-kat Ha-miz-beiach 2. Ra-ot Sav-ah Nafshi B yagon Kochi Ka-leh Cha-yai Mei-re-ru V koshi B shi-bud Malchhut Egla U-v yado Ha-g dola Ho-tzi Et Ha-sgula Cheil Par-oh V chol Zar-oh Yardu K even Bim-tzula 3. Dvir Kodsho Hevi-ani V gam Sham Lo Sha-kat-ti Uva Nogeis V higlani Ki Zarim Avad-ti V yein Ra-al Ma-sachti Kim-at She-a-varti Keitz Bavel Z ru-bavel L keitz Shiv-im No-shati 4. Krot Komat B rosh Bi-keish A-gagi Ben Hamdatah V ni-h yata Lo L fach U-lemokeish V ga-a-vato Nishba-ta Rosh Y mini Niseita V'oyeiv Shmo Machita Rov Banav V kin-yanav Al Ha-eitz Ta-lita 5. Y va-nim Nik-bi-tzu A-lai A-zai Bi-may Chash-ma-nim U far-tzu Chomos Migda-lai V tim-u Kol Ha-shma-nim U mi-no-tar Kan-ka-nim Na-a-sa Neis La-sho-sha-nim B nei Vi-nah Y mei Sh mo-nah Kav-u Shir U ri-nanim 6. Cha-sof Z ro-a Kodshecha V ka-reiv Keitz Hayeshu-ah N kom Nikmat Ava-decha Mei-uma Har-sha-ah Ki Archah Ha-sha-ah V'ein Keitz Limei Ha-ra-ah D chei Admon B tzeil Tzalmon Ha-keim La-nu Roim Shiv-ah Translation: 1. O mighty stronghold of my salvation, to praise You is a delight. Restore my House of Prayer and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering. When You will have prepared the slaughter for the blaspheming foe, Then I shall complete with a song of hymn the dedication of the Altar. 2. My soul had been sated with troubles, my strength has been consumed with grief. They had embittered my life with hardship, with the calf-like kingdom's bondage. But with His great power, He brought forth the treasured ones, Pharaoh's army and all his offspring Went down like a stone into the deep. 3. To the holy abode of His Word He brought me. But there, too, I had no rest And an oppressor came and exiled me. For I had served aliens, And had drunk benumbing wine. Scarcely had I departed at Babylon's end Zerubabel came. At the end of seventy years I was saved. 4. To sever the towering cypress sought the Aggagite, son of Hammedatha, But it became [a snare and] a stumbling block to him and his arrogance was stilled. The head of the Benjaminite You lifted and the enemy, his name You obliterated His numerous progeny - his possessions - on the gallows You hanged. 5. Greeks gathered against me then in Hasmonean days. They breached the walls of my towers and they defiled all the oils; And from the one remnant of the flasks a miracle was wrought for the roses. Men of insight - eight days established for song and jubilation 6. Bare Your holy arm and hasten the End for salvation - Avenge the vengeance of Your servants' blood from the wicked nation. For the triumph is too long delayed for us, and there is no end to days of evil, Repel the Red One in the nethermost shadow and establish for us the seven shepherds.

7 .... A Synopsis of the Chanukah Story: The Maccabean Revolt By Lesli Koppelman Ross, a writer and artist whose works have appeared nationally. She has devoted much of her time to the causes of Ethiopian Jewry and Jewish education. NOTE: The author of this article explains that information in this article reflects the traditional sources regarding the Jewish understanding of the events of Hanukkah. These sources are not completely reliable historically. For example, the story of the events at Modin is part of the Hanukkah saga, though its historical veracity is questionable. In 168 BCE, the ruler of the Syrian kingdom, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, stepped up his campaign to quash Judaism, so that all subjects in his vast empire which included the Land of Israel would share the same culture and worship the same gods. He marched into Jerusalem, vandalized the Temple, erected an idol on the altar, and desecrated its holiness with the blood of swine. Decreeing that studying Torah, observing the Sabbath, and circumcising Jewish boys were punishable by death, he sent Syrian overseers and soldiers to villages throughout Judea to enforce the edicts and force Jews to engage in idol worship. When the Syrian soldiers reached Modin (about 12 miles northwest of the capital), they demanded that the local leader, Mattathias the Kohein (a member of the priestly class), be an example to his people by sacrificing a pig on a portable pagan altar. The elder refused and killed not only the Jew who stepped forward to do the Syrian s bidding, but also the king s representative. With the rallying cry Whoever is for God, follow me! Mattathias and his five sons (Jonathan, Simon, Judah, Eleazar, and Yohanan) fled to the hills and caves of the wooded Judean wilderness. Joined by a ragtag army of others like them, simple farmers dedicated to the laws of Moses, armed only with spears, bows and arrows, and rocks from the terrain, the Maccabees, as Mattathias sons, particularly Judah, came to be known, fought a guerilla war against the well-trained, well-equipped, seemingly endless forces of the mercenary Syrian army. In three years, the Maccabees cleared the way back to the Temple mount, which they reclaimed. They cleaned the Temple and dismantled the defiled altar and constructed a new one in its place. Three years to the day after Antiochus mad rampage (Kislev 25, 165 BCE), the Maccabees held a dedication (hanukkah) of the Temple with proper sacrifice, rekindling of the golden menorah, and eight days of celebration and praise to God. [Proper] Jewish worship had been reestablished..... The First Chanukah Noam Zion is the Director of Shalom Hartman Institute's Resource Center for Jewish Continuity. He specializes in teaching Jewish Holidays, Bible and Art, and has edited several educational books for the Shalom Hartman Institute. The First Chanukah... It was actually a Sukkot celebration! In addition to the victory parades of the ancient Maccabees that celebrated their political independence, the original holiday also took the form of a Temple Rededication Ceremony. In the Second Book of the Maccabees, which quotes from a letter sent circa 125 BCE from the Hasmoneans to the leaders of Egyptian Jewry, the holiday is called The festival of Sukkot celebrated in the month of Kislev (December), rather than Tishrei (September). Since the Jews were still in caves fighting as guerrillas on Tishrei, 164 BCE, they could not properly honor the eight-day holiday of Sukkot (and Shemini Atzeret), which is a Temple holiday; hence it was postponed until after the recapture of Jerusalem and the purification of the Temple. This not the Talmudic legend of the cruse of oil explains the eight day form of Chanukah. The use of candles may reflect the later reported tradition of Simchat Beit HaShoava (W ater-drawing Festival),the all-night dancing in the Temple on Sukkot, which required tall outdoor lamps to flood light on the dance floor of the Temple courtyard. They celebrated it for eight days with gladness like Sukkot and recalled how a little while before, during Sukkot they had been wandering in the mountains

8 and caverns like wild animals. So carrying lulavs [palm branches waved on Sukkot] they offered hymns of praise (perhaps, the Hallel prayer) to God who had brought to pass the purification of his own place (II Maccabees 10:6-7). The connection between Sukkot and Chanukah (as the Rabbis later called it) goes beyond the accident of a postponed Sukkot celebration. Sukkot is the holiday commemorating not only the wandering of the Jews in the desert in makeshift huts but the end of that trek with the dedication of the First Temple (i.e. the permanent Bayit/ Home of God in Jerusalem by King Solomon circa 1000 BCE). King Solomon gathered every person of Israel in the month of Eitanim (Tishrei) on the holiday (Sukkot) in the seventh month for God had said, I have built a House for my eternal residence' (I Kings 8:2, 12). Thus the Maccabean rededication celebration is appropriately set for eight days in the Temple.. Why not sponsor the Shabbat Chanukah Kiddush? Call or us to arrange for it!.... Publicizing the Miracle Written by Michele Alperin, a freelance writer in Princeton, New Jersey who has a masters degree in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. The home ceremonies followed today were the conscious creation of the Talmudic rabbis. The Talmudic explanation of the laws and significance of Hanukkah in tractate Shabbat 21a-24a appears almost as an after-thought amidst a discussion of appropriate wicks and oils for Sabbath lights. Yet in this sole discussion of Hanukkah in the Talmud, the rabbis seem to be pursuing a definite agenda as they debate the details of the Hanukkah ritual--they are creating the ritual that will embody the meaning of the holiday. And for the rabbis, the spiritual goal of the Hanukkah ritual is to publicize the miracle of the oil (in Aramaic, pirsumay nisa). Publicizing the miracle is so critical for the rabbis that they are willing to say that in certain situations kindling the Hanukkah lights takes precedence over that mainstay of Jewish ritual reciting Kiddush over wine on the Sabbath. If a person does not have sufficient funds for both oil and wicks for the hanukkiyah (Hanukkah lamp) and wine for Kiddush, the rabbis recommend kindling the Hanukkah lights instead of making Kiddush. As the sage Rava thought through these issues: "Rava inquired: Where the choice is between kindling a Hanukkah light and sanctification of the Sabbath day by blessing the wine, what is the law? Is sanctification of the Sabbath day preferable since it is a frequent obligation (whereas kindling the Hanukkah lights is only an annual event) Or perhaps kindling the Hanukkah light is preferable since its purpose is publicizing the miracle that God wrought for the Jewish people? After Rava asked this question, he himself resolved it: Kindling the Hanukkah light is preferable, since its purpose is publicizing the miracle. Where to Light the Candles... The rabbinical goal of publicizing the miracle even has implications for something so seemingly inconsequential as where Hanukkah flames are to be lit. For the rabbis, the lights must be kindled where they are to be displayed so that act and intent are one; and appropriate placement of the burning lights means making them visible from the public thoroughfare. Consequently, the lights should be kindled either at the outer doorway of one s home or, if the home fronts onto a courtyard, then at the entrance to the courtyard. Someone who lives on an upper floor is expected to kindle the lights in a window adjacent to the public thoroughfare. Because the purpose of the lights is to make a public statement, the only time that a person is allowed to light the candles on his table is in a time of danger. To ensure that the Hanukkah lights are kindled solely for the sake of publicizing the miracle, the rabbis mandate that they not be used to provide light for any other activity, even Torah study. Some rabbis argued that using the Hanukkah lights for another purpose was, in effect, treating them disrespectfully; others saw the Hanukkah lights as a commemoration of the Temple Menorah, whose light could not be used for other activities, even sacred ones. The rabbis, therefore, required that another light be lit in the room where the Hanukkah lights are lit, so that its light would be used and not that of the

9 hanukkiyah. This additional light was eventually called the shamash, or helper light, which is the extra, ninth light in every hanukkiyah. Whereas the other eight lights fulfill the commandment, or mitzvah, of kindling the Hanukkah lights, the shamash provides light for other activities, including the kindling of the other lights. Olive Oil... Another observation made by the rabbis may also be tied to their goal of publicizing the miracle. Although any type of oil is allowed for the Hanukkah lights, the rabbis considered olive oil to be the choicest. Why? Because, they said, it produces a clearer and brighter light. Although not explicitly stated, one might guess that a brighter light would be more effective in broadcasting the miracle. Perhaps the rabbis also thought that stronger lights would make a deeper impression on the individuals kindling the lights. In fact, the impulse for the rabbis entire discussion about the procedure for kindling the Hanukkah lights seems to be their concern with how individuals experience holiness through ritual. Although the commandment to kindle the Hanukkah lights could theoretically be fulfilled by having the head of the family kindle one light each night for the entire household, the rabbis suggest that individuals will be more involved if they each light their own hanukkiyot--one for each member of the family. It is interesting that the rabbis also state specifically that women are obligated to kindle Hanukkah lights because they also experienced the miracle of God s salvation. Shammai vs. Hillel... The Jewish Museum The rabbis felt that simply kindling one light every night would not sufficiently reflect the power of the Hanukkah miracle. The schools of Shammai and of Hillel had different ideas about how to better connect the ritual act to the miracle. The school of Shammai prescribed that on the first day of Chanukah each person should light eight lights and then decrease the lights by one on each succeeding night. Their reasoning, as explained in the Talmud, is that the number of lights kindled on a particular night would thereby correspond to the numbers of days that remain in the miracle (including the day following the night on which the candles are being lit). Further, during the course of the actual miracle in the Temple, the oil available for the miracle decreased during each of the eight days. The school of Hillel, on the other hand, suggested kindling a single light on the first night and moving up to eight on the last night. The rabbis explain that the school of Hillel was focusing on enumerating the days of the miracle that had already passed rather than those yet to come. But the clincher, the reason that the school of Hillel won out (as they did in most disputes with the school of Shammai), is that they seemed to better understand the human experience of the miraculous. Their reason for increasing the number of lights each night was that in sacred matters we elevate, and do not lower [the degree of holiness]. Personal meaning is created in the details of the ritual act, and the rabbis goal seemed to be to develop the most intense connection possible between ritual act and spiritual intention. In the rabbis discussion of the blessings to be said before kindling the lights, they make an interesting aside that suggests how aware they were of their own power over future Jewish practice. The Talmud asks why the blessing over the lights includes words to the effect that God commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights if the holiday is not mentioned in the Bible: "What blessing does one utter when performing the mitzvah of kindling the Hanukkah lights? One blesses: 'Blessed are you, Adonai our God, king of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light.' But where in the Torah did God so command us?" The rabbis response is to bring two verses from the Torah as proof-texts to justify viewing themselves as channels for God s word: You shall not deviate from the word that they [the rabbis] will tell you (Deuteronomy 17:11). And: Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will say to you (Deuteronomy 32:7). Through these bold words the rabbis are legitimizing themselves as the arbiters of God s word and creators of rituals that embody God s intentions, both for Hanukkah and for all the rest of Jewish life and practice..... From Gelt to Gifts Dr. Eliezer Segal of the University of Calgary, intertwines an understanding of Jewish history with a look at the development of practices in the modern Jewish community.

10 Readers of KCT publications will recognize the author from his whimsical writings published around Purim, Pesach and other holidays. During the year that our family was sojourning in California, our children came home from school with marvelous reports of the gifts that their classmates had received in honor of Chanukah: color televisions, Nintendos and beyond. We had, of course, heard about the exaggerated commercialization of the American Chanukah, but the phenomenon did not become tangible for us until that experience. In comparison with the Mishloah manot of Purim or the Afikoman-bargaining of the Passover seder, gifts are not a traditional feature of Chanukah observances. The closest equivalent to an institution of gift-giving on Chanukah is the Eastern European custom of distributing "Chanukah-gelt" to the children. However, even this is of recent vintage, and it is hard to find mentions of it before the nineteenth century. It would appear that Chanukah-gelt evolved out of an earlier practice with a decidedly different character. Inspired by the semantic and etymological connections between "Chanukah" --dedication, and hinnukh--education, some Jewish communities used the Chanukah season as an opportunity to recognize their religious teachers and students. An interesting practical application of these ideals is related in "Hemdat Yamim," a homiletical collection first published in eighteenth-century Smyrna, a work whose author's identity (other than the fact that he was a devotee of the messianic pretender Shabbetai Zvi) has continued to elude bibliographers. The Hemdat Yamim reports that "in some communities, the custom has arisen of having the children distribute coins to their teachers along with other gifts. Other beggars make the rounds then, though the mitzvah is intended primarily for the benefit of impecunious students." Rabbi Jacob Joseph of Polnoye, the renowned student of Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov, wrote that in Eastern Europe it was customary during Chanukah for Rabbis to make the rounds of outlying villages to strengthen their Jewish education. Although initially the teachers were scrupulous about not accepting payment for their services, eventually they agreed to at least accept compensation for lost time. Before long the tour, with trademark lantern in hand, came to be seen by many as expressly intended for the collection of material tokens of appreciation, and this evolved into a quasi-obligatory gift of Chanukah-gelt. Chanukah-gelt tours are mentioned as a routine matter in some early Hasidic stories, and the practice expanded to encompass additional recipients--such as preachers, cantors, butchers and beadles--as well as a broader variety of acceptable currencies--including whiskey, grain, vegetables and honey. The right to collect Chanukah-gelt would be written into the contracts of communal employees, and legends were even circulated to the effect that one of the collectors might be none other than the prophet Elijah! It is not until the nineteenth century that we begin to hear about Chanukah-gelt being directed primarily at children. We are not certain how or why this transformation occurred, but it is described in several autobiographical memoirs, especially by children of well-to-do homes. Variations on these customs were also observed in Sepharadic and oriental communities. Poor Jewish children in Persia would go door to door offering, in return for gifts, to protect their benefactors' households from the Evil Eye by burning special grasses. In Yemen, it was customary for Jewish mothers to give their children a small coin on each day of Chanukah, with which to purchase sugar powder and red coloring that would be used as ingredients for a special holiday treat: a sweet beverage known as "Chanukah wine" that was drunk at their nightly parties. In the "old yishuv" of Israel, Sepharadic yeshiva children circulated through the neighborhood asking for contributions of food for their festive Chanukah feast. The little "Maccabees" in Hebron would reinforce their demands with toy rifles. In Jerusalem, the teachers made their own tour of the Jewish Quarter, serenading the householders with Ladino songs. The custom was believed to be linked to the week's Torah portion in which Jacob urges his sons to "go again and procure some food for us." Needless to say, an immense gulf separates the customs described here from the shopping frenzy that is associated with the North American Chanukah. Like reading the study materials in the cycle of holiday mailings? Visit the KCT Library year-round!

11 By Yael Zoldan, a freelance author of several popular children s books, including "We Can Do Mitzvos from Aleph to Tav" (Feldheim, 2009) and When I Daven, (Feldheim, 2011) which helps small children understand and enjoy their daily prayers. This excerpt is from her new book, These Small Lights..... These Small Lights Chanukah reminds us that we are not the same as everyone else. We have polished the silver menorahs until they gleam. My husband s menorah is tall and majestic with wide branches spreading out of a silver trunk, the holder filled with pools of golden oil. The children s are homemade of clay, and tile with colorful candles. We hang the crayon sketches of draidels and latkes, and gold coins. We display all of this proudly in the front window where those who know can look and see. My children beam with pride and anticipation. But the whole scene isn t very big. You have to look for it to know that it is there. And who will look for it? The season outside is so very big, so exaggerated and all encompassing. Their holiday has music and peppermints and men standing outside of stores ringing bells. They have s and catalogues and matching striped pajamas. And we have these small silver lights. I think of this as I stop myself from humming in the car along with songs that are not my own. I think of how it must seem to our children. How it sometimes seems even to me. I wonder how our holiday has been made to seem small, insignificant, a momentary aside in the glitzy false cheer of this advertising extravaganza. How we have been sidelined in our own homes. The evening approaches and I tend to the lights, filling and refilling, cleaning out old wicks and as I do I think again of the privacy of our song and our celebration. And I suddenly realize that this is right. Isn t that, in fact, what the story was all about? They were many and we were few. Their culture was appealing and inviting. It desired to swallow up the small remnant of Judaism, to make them all part of a large whole, the same as everyone else. And that small band of Jews, those stubborn Maccabees refused. Faced with a life of hardship, hiding and privation they insisted. We don t want what you have. We would rather live in caves, in battle, on the run, than accept the sameness you offer us. We want only to be what we are, what we have always been. Separate, different, other. Their culture desired to swallow up the small remnant of Judaism. And those stubborn Maccabees refused. It was ridiculous, really. A scraggly band of untrained guerrillas waging war on a superpower. It could never succeed and they knew it. It must have seemed like a death wish to anyone logical. But it wasn t a death wish and they weren t being logical. They were being faithful. They were proving with action their passionate belief that G-d would not let them fail. That we Jews were meant to be what He told us to be when He said, Be holy and pure as I am holy. They believed with the pure faith of the righteous that if they showed Him their yearning He would stand with them. And with G-d on their side, they knew that the few could overcome the many, the weak could overpower the strong. And so because of their faith, the Jewish people survived. Our culture, our pride, our stubbornness all survived. And all these years later we, their descendants, find the faith to defy our surroundings. Not for us the glitzy cheer of tinsel, not for us the big red man. Our menorahs are small but beautiful, our tiny flames light up the darkness of this long lonely night. Stepping back from the table, I think of our insistence on maintaining customs that must seem antiquated; our way of dress, the Jewish names we give our children, our careful Shabbas observance. I think of our refusal to be assimilated, our insistence on maintaining the purity of our line, our pride at our differentness. I think that maybe our tiny lights might be a signpost to someone who has lost his way in the darkness of this exile, who needs to know where home is. I think of all this as I fill the candles, as I grate the potatoes, as I ready myself for the night, preparing the scene so my children can see and they can learn what we Jews have known all along. That the lights are like us, small but pure. And even though you have to look for them, you may find that they are looking for you too.....two Kinds of Light Written by Dr. David Adler, an Australian physician who regularly contributes to the Chabad website. See the next page

12 Two Kinds of Light: The Beauty of Shabbat Chanukah On Shabbat Chanukah, the Shabbat that occurs during Chanukah, two sets of lights are kindled in the Jewish home: the menorah is lit, followed by the Shabbat candles. The requirements for these two mitzvahs provide a study in contrasts: The menorah is kindled by the men and boys of the house (though if a man is not present it may be kindled by a woman). Shabbat candles are lit by women and girls (though, again, if a woman is not present, a man may light them). In fulfillment of the commandment to publicize the miracle of Chanukah, the menorah is placed in a doorway or window so that it is visible from the outside. Many communities stage public menorah lightings in parks, city squares and shopping malls. Shabbat candles are lit in the inner sanctum of the home, often on the table where the meal will be served. The blessing over the menorah is sung out loud, followed by boisterous songs and celebration. The blessing over Shabbat candles is usually said in a quiet voice, and is followed by several moments of silent prayer, as the woman of the house requests blessings for her family. Behind these requirements lies a deep kabbalistic significance that reflects the spiritual energies of the participants. Feminine spiritual energy is focused internally, while masculine energy tends to be external. Traditionally, the man was the hunter-gatherer, the farmer, the breadwinner, leaving home in order to provide for his family. The woman was the homemaker, transforming the raw materials the man provided into food and clothing. The woman enhances the internal peace and spirituality of the home. These roles are no longer as rigid as they once were, and indeed, every man and woman possesses a mixture of masculine and feminine energies. Changing social norms have allowed women to express themselves more fully in both the public and private sphere. In the Jewish home, the woman enhances the internal peace and spirituality of the home by lighting the Shabbat candles. By lighting the Chanukah menorah, the man publicizes the spirituality of Chanukah as a message to be spread externally. These two mitzvahs harness the spiritual energies of men and women in a divinely determined way to best effect. Two sets of candles, two very different mitzvahs. Yet the end result is the same: a match is held to a wick, a flame is kindled, and darkness recedes. The Torah recognizes that men and women bring different energies to the task of perfecting the world. Working together, harnessing the unique qualities G-d gave them, they can create enough light to banish darkness forever..... Hannah and her Seven Sons Excerpted from the extensive scholarly writings of the late Rabbi Gerson Cohen, z l, past Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, [Editors note: Scholars differ on a number of the historical details of the era in which the Chanukah miracle occurred. While none doubt the awesome influence of the events over the subsequent two millennia, the extract below illustrates the detail in which such study preserves the magnificent legacy of one of the two most influential heroines of the era, Hannah and Yehudit.] Hannah and her Two Sons, a story told in II Maccabees, Chapter 7, of seven brothers who were seized along with their mother by Antiochus IV E p i p h a n e s, presumably shortly after the beginning of the religious persecutions in 167/166 B.C.E., and commanded to prove their obedience to the king by partaking of swine's flesh. The brothers defiantly refused to do so. Encouraged in their resolve by their mother, they were executed after being put to frightful tortures. When the mother was appealed to by the king to spare the youngest child's life by prevailing upon him to comply, she urged the child instead to follow in the path of his brothers, and she herself died shortly thereafter. The accounts of the manner in which she met her death differ. According to IV Maccabees, she threw herself into the fire. The Midrash states that she lost her reason and threw herself to her death from a roof, while according to Josippon, she fell dead on the corpses of her children. The story, along with that of the martyrdom of the aged priest Eleazar (II

13 Macc. 6:18 31), became the subject of the book known as the Fourth Book of Maccabees. In rabbinic literature the story is recounted as an instance of martyrdom during the Hadrianic persecution (Lam. R. 1:16, no. 50; Git. 57b; PR 43:180; SER 30:151). The martyrs were venerated in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints (Aug. 1) as the "Seven Maccabee Brothers," although the mother is also mentioned with them, their martyrdom being considered a prefiguration of later Christian martyrdoms. According to Antiochene Christian tradition, the relics of the mother and sons were interred on the site of a synagogue (later converted into a church) in the Kerateion quarter of Antioch. On this and other grounds, it has been suggested that the scene of the martyrdom was Antioch rather than Jerusalem. Whatever its historical substratum, the story in II Maccabees and in all subsequent sources is doubtless an adaptation of a stock form of a terrible tragedy (cf. I Sam. 2:5 and Isaiah di Trani's commentary; Job 1:2, 19; Ass. Mos. 9; Jos., Ant., 14:429; BB 11a; Sem. 8:13). Drawing directly on II Maccabees, Sefer Josippon (c. 953) restored the story to its original Epiphanian setting. Although in II Maccabees and Gittin the name of the mother is not given, in other rabbinic accounts she is called Miriam bat Tanhum, while in Syriac Christian accounts she is called Shamone and/or Maryam. However, the obvious association with I Samuel 2:5 impelled a Spanish reviser of the Josippon (ed. Constantinople, 1510, 4:19) to name the anonymous mother of II Maccabees "Hannah," by which name she has become famous, thanks to the dissemination of the longer (Spanish) version of Josippon and the medieval piyyutim in Hebrew, Arabic, and Judeo-Persian which are based on it. The story has inspired many legends on the place of the martyrs' burial, as well as works of art, poetry, and drama on their martyrdom, down to modern times..... The Surprising Origin of the Dreidel Rabbi David Golinkin, Ph.D., is president and rector of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where he teaches Talmud and Jewish law, and he heads the Va'ad Halachah (Committee on Jewish law) of the Masorti, or Conservative, movement's Rabbinical Assembly in Israel. The well-known Hanukkah symbol has European roots. The dreidel or sevivon is perhaps the most famous custom associated with Chanukah. Indeed, various rabbis have tried to find an integral connection between the dreidel and the Hanukkah story; the standard explanation is that the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin, which appear on the dreidel in the Diaspora, stand for nes gadol haya sham a great miracle happened there, while in Israel the dreidel says nun, gimmel, hey, pey, which means a great miracle happened here. READ: How to Play Dreidel One 19th-century rabbi maintained that Jews played with the dreidel in order to fool the Greeks if they were caught studying Torah, which had been outlawed. Others figured out elaborate gematriot [numerological explanations based on the fact that every Hebrew letter has a numerical equivalent] and word plays for the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin. For example, nun, gimmel, hey, shin in gematria equals 358, which is also the numerical equivalent of mashiach or Messiah! Finally, the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin are supposed to represent the four kingdoms that tried to destroy us [in ancient times]: N = Nebuchadnetzar = Babylon; H = Haman = Persia = Madai; G = Gog = Greece; and S = Seir = Rome. As a matter of fact, all of these elaborate explanations were invented after the fact. The dreidel game originally had nothing to do with Chanukah; it has been played by various people in various languages for many centuries. In England and Ireland there is a game called totum or teetotum that is especially popular at Christmastime. In English, this game is first mentioned as totum ca The name comes from the Latin totum, which means all. By 1720, the game was called T- totum or teetotum, and by 1801 the four letters already represented four words in English: T = Take all; H = Half; P = Put down; and N = Nothing.

14 Our Eastern European game of dreidel (including the letters nun, gimmel, hey, shin) is directly based on the German equivalent of the totum game: N = Nichts = nothing; G = Ganz = all; H = Halb = half; and S = Stell ein = put in. In German, the spinning top was called a torrel or trundl, and in Yiddish it was called a dreidel, a fargl, a varfl [= something thrown], shtel ein [= put in], and gor, gorin [= all]. When Hebrew was revived as a spoken language, the dreidel was called, among other names, a sevivon, which is the one that caught on. Thus the dreidel game represents an irony of Jewish history. In order to celebrate the holiday of Chanukah, which celebrates our victory over cultural assimilation, we play the dreidel game, which is an excellent example of cultural assimilation! Of course, there is a world of difference between imitating non-jewish games and worshiping idols, but the irony remains nonetheless..... Sufganiyot: Chanukah Doughnuts In commemoration of the miracle of the oil, it has become traditional to eat food that is fried in oil on Chanukah. Ashkenazic Jews from central and eastern Europe developed the custom of eating potato pancakes (latkes) while Sephardic Jews from northern Africa have the custom to eat jelly doughnuts (Sufganiyot). Here is Barbara Mann s foolproof recipe for delicious Sufganiyot. Give it a try! סופגניות Chanukah doughnuts 1 package dry yeast pinch salt 1 cup warm water 2 T. brandy 5 T. + 1 t. sugar vegetable oil 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 1 stick margarine, softened ½ cup jam, any flavor 4 cups flour, plus a little more, if necessary and powdered sugar Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 t. sugar and leave for 10 minutes. Beat remaining sugar with eggs and yolks. Add margarine, salt, vanilla, brandy, and yeast mixture and beat well. Fold in flour gradually and beat until it forms a smooth, soft elastic dough. Add more flour if necessary. Knead dough with floured hands for about 5 minutes. Place dough in a floured and oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Gently roll dough on a floured surface to about ½ inch thick. Cut out circles with top of a medium water glass (or cookie cutter). Place cut doughnuts on a platter to rest for 10 minutes. Heat several inches of oil in a pot over high heat. To test whether or not the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of raw dough into the pot. If the piece of dough bubbles and then rises to the top, the oil is ready. Adjust heat to medium high, and place doughnuts carefully into the pot with a slotted spoon. Fry on one side until golden brown, and then turn over. It should take 1-2 minutes for each batch, depending on size of doughnuts. Drain on paper towels and cool. With a small spoon, poke a hole into side of each doughnut, and push a bit of jelly into middle. (You can also use a pastry bag or large syringe). Sift powdered sugar over tops of doughnuts. Enjoy! Kiddush Sponsorships Are Available ~ Honor Any Occasion of Your Choosing.... Please Ask Us!

15 KCT in NOTES A community made complete by your participation and passion Chag Chanukah Sameach!!