KEHILLAT CHOVEVEI TZION

KEHILLAT CHOVEVEI TZION THE 5779 CHANUKAH HOLIDAY BOOKLET What s in this Booklet Chanukah Greetings Chanukah and Shabbat Service Schedule Chanukah Study Guide We Can All Be Miracles Believing in Miracles A Double Loss Who Are the Heros of Chanukah? Dreidles and Daily Miracles Publicizing the Miracles In These Days, At This Time Maoz Tzur: A Sixth Stanza Chanukah Home and Family Ritual Guide Kindling the Lights Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) Playing Dreidle: The Rules of the Game Singing the Songs of Chanukah A Chanukah Photo in Need of a Caption Invitation to the KCT Shabbat Chanukah Luncheon

8 Kislev 5779 November 16, 2018 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 (www.kct.org). 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 Martin Vitberg Herman Werner, President Cherie Zager

KEHILLAT CHOVEVEI TZION SHABBAT and CHANUKAH SERVICES November 2018 - January 2019 Kislev - Tevet 5779 Candle Lighting Shabbat Vayetze Friday November 16 6:00 PM 4:15 PM Saturday November 17 9:00 AM Shabbat Vayishlach Friday November 23 6:00 PM 4:10 PM Saturday November 24 9:00 AM Shabbat Vayeshev Friday November 30 6:00 PM 4:07 PM Saturday December 1 9:00 PM Chanukah 5779 Sunday evening, December 2 Shabbat Miketz (Shabbat Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh Tevet) Light Chanukah candles before Shabbat Shabbat candle lighting is 4:06 PM Friday December 7 6:00 PM 4:06 PM Saturday December 8 9:00 AM Congregational Chanukah Kiddush-Luncheon Shabbat concludes at 5:09 PM. Light Chanukah candles after Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Tevet Shabbat and Sunday, December 8-9 Shabbat Vayigash Friday December 14 6:00 PM 4:07 PM Saturday December 15 9:00 AM Shabbat Vayechi Friday December 21 6:00 PM 4:09 PM Saturday December 22 9:00 AM Shabbat Shemot Friday December 28 6:00 PM 4:13 PM Saturday December 29 9:00 AM Shabbat Va era Friday January 4 6:00 PM 4:19 PM Saturday January 5 9:00 AM Rosh Chodesh Shevat Monday, January 7 Kehillat Chovevei Tzion Route 25A at Nicolls Road P.O. Box 544 East Setauket, NY 11733

Please be aware that this study 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..... We Can All Be Miracles Written by Rabbi David Sandmel, Director of Interreligious Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League. On Chanukah, we celebrate religious and national freedom. In the second century B.C.E., according to the available sources, the Maccabees led the Judeans in a revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus, who outlawed the practice of Judaism to control his empire. He oppressed the people and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. After defeating the Seleucids, who had overextended themselves in their war against Egypt, the Hasmoneans recaptured the Temple, cleansed and rededicated it (the Hebrew word chanukah means dedication.) Later sources tell the now-famous story of a small cruse of purified oil sufficient only for one day that miraculously lasted for eight, enough time to produce a fresh supply. The Indomitable Human Spirit... For at least 2000 years, Jews have commemorated this moment in our history, but it has broader, universal resonances: a small, indigenous population resisting the oppressive policies of empire, hope and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds, and commitment to the preservation of one s faith, culture and freedom. Perhaps most importantly, it is a celebration of the indomitability of the human spirit. The Miracle... Chanukah not only celebrates an event that occurred a long time ago, it also reminds us that the struggle for our freedom and ideals requires commitment, bravery, and self-sacrifice. It also requires the confidence that our cause is just and the abiding hope that even when things look dark, justice and good can triumph over injustice and evil. In the Jewish calendar, Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, right around the winter solstice, the darkest time of the year. When we light the chanukiyah, we add a candle each night, symbolically increasing the amount of light as the days themselves begin to get longer. The traditional story of Chanukah revolves around a divine miracle but remember that the miracle occurred after the people came together to protect themselves and their heritage. We embody that spirit when we join with others to bring light and hope to the world, and when we stand up to those, no matter how powerful, who seek to deny freedom and dignity to others. In this way, we can all be miracles. Written by Noam Zion, 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. This essay comes from A Different Light: The Big Book of Chanukah published by the Shalom Hartman Institute and Devora Publishing..... Believing in Miracles The many stories related to Chanukah actually recount two different miracles--one supernatural, the other "natural". The Rabbis speak of two different kinds of miracles that the menorah proclaims. We must decide whether to believe in and propagate either. The Miracle of the Oil The miracle recalled in the Talmud speaks of a cruse of oil that burned for eight days instead of

one. That is a supernatural miracle violating the laws of nature. Taken literally, it promotes a belief in supernatural intervention. It may even denigrate human effort. Perhaps that kind of belief explains why Lubavitch Hasidim refused to wear gas masks during the Iraqi missile attacks on Israel in 1991 when chemical warheads were feared. However, David Hartman argues that the miracle of oil is only a symbol that arouses human faith. When human beings are willing to believe that more is possible than meets the eye, then they will invest in historical projects like the Maccabean Revolt and the Declaration of the Independence of Israel in 1948 even against all odds. Our presupposition that a cruse of oil cannot burn for eight days, that it is a natural impossibility, is only a symbol of the mistaken belief in the historical impossibility of change. The Miracles of the Few Against the Many Even if we cannot embrace the miracle of the cruse of oil, the Rabbis offered a different kind of miracle to celebrate. The Rabbinic prayer for Chanukah, Al Hanisim, ignores the miracle of the oil and speaks of a general phenomenon possible in every generation whereby God helps human beings to bring about miraculous rescues from historical oppressors. This belief in God's miracles does not undermine human effort but causes it to redouble. The miracle is "natural" within the realm of historical possibility, yet inconceivable and unattainable by oppressed peoples who don't believe in its possibility. In the Exodus from Egypt, God initiates the miracles for a passive, despairing people of slaves. However, on Chanukah, first the martyrs like Hannah and then the zealots and the warriors initiate the redemptive process. In a world where God seems eclipsed, where there are no supernatural signs and no prophets, where the leading priests accepted Hellenism as a boon, the Maccabees bear witness to another dimension. They evaluate the world differently and they believe in a Divine power whose hidden will becomes manifest. The Rabbis celebrated the political and military manifestation of God's miracle in the Maccabees' victory. Personally, I prefer the miracle of the few against the many. I need to reject the miraculous long-burning cruse of oil lest I be understood as an anti-rationalist or passive Jew. But perhaps beyond my polemic against the childish legend, I need to mature and to reinterpret both kinds of miracles as opening me up to other dimensions, to possibilities in myself and in my world that I have too quickly foreclosed. Believing in miracles is another way of learning to keep my options open and letting myself be surprised..... A Double Loss Excerpted from the writings of Rabbi Label Lam, known for a multifaceted career in Jewish Education and a veteran of the Day School Movement, and a former full-time lecturer for Arachim Seminars. He is the co-founder of Foundations for Jewish Learning. The Candle of Chanukah is a Mitzvah that represents all Mitzvahs as King Solomon tells us in Mishle', "The candle is a Mitzvah and the Torah is light." Therefore we can learn sweeping life principles from the simple Laws of lighting the Menorah of Chanukah. For example, "Hadlakah Oseh Mitzvah!- Lighting makes the Mitzvah!" This informs us that doing the lighting is already the accomplishment of the Mitzvah. If a candle, fit to burn, is blown out and did not last for the requisite half hour even still the deed of lighting the Chanukah Menorah was accomplished. Yaakov asked his father in-law Lavan, "What did I do so wrong that you "dalaktah"- chased after me?"" Chasing and lighting here share the same root. Sometimes pursuing the Mitzvah is also a full accomplishment. Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzatto ztl. in the Path of the Just describes man as being in the midst of a battle "from in front and from behind". I can understand how the battle for the next bold step of life faces resistance from the front lines. What does it mean to be embattled from behind? Similarly in the blessing leading up to the evening Amida we ask that the opposing force be removed from in front of us and from in back of us. [... ] When Avraham went to the mountain with Isaac on a three day trek he was ultimately prevented from carrying out that deed but it was considered such

a great accomplishment that we are chewing on its merits till this very day. However it remained at risk even afterward. As a result of that attempted sacrifice, our sages tell us, Sara died. Had Avraham mourned the deed, he could have washed it away after the fact. Just as one can do Teshuvah and regret a misdeed so can one uproot a Mitzvah. "Lighting makes the Mitzvah". That's the paradigm for Mitzvahs. We do our very best and if for some reason beyond our control our efforts are repelled, Mazel Tov, it's a Mitzvah. There is still a lurking danger though that it can be fumbled. Indulging in regret about the wrong things can trigger a double loss! Parshat Miketz is always read during Chanukah. The familiar story of the oil that burned for eight days is not in the book of Macabbes. It is not recorded until the exile into Babylonia. The Jews of Babylonia had trouble reelling the story of Chanukah, a story of a victorious struggle of a minority against a majority. They were living relatively comfortably in a land of exile and were afraid their children would be influenced by the model of the Macabees and oppose authority. So the Chanukah story was changed from one of a miraculous victory against overwhelming odds to a miraculous story of a little jar of oil. Parshat Miketz and Chanukah are about identity. Identity revealed and identity concealed. Identity lost and identity found. Identity to struggle for and identity to keep. We know from the Torah that Joseph has not lost his identity. He dresses like an Egyptian, speaks their language, even styles his hair in curls as they did. But the Torah says, "To Joseph were born two sons... whom Asenath daughter of Poti Phera Chief of On bore to him." It stress that his wife bore two sons TO HIM. He married an aristocrat, the daughter of a priest. She should have been the one to set the example at home. But it is Joseph, a foreigner, an ex-slave, an ex-convict who sets the moral and spiritual ideals of the house. It is with the names of his sons - Menasseh and Ephraim - that we bless our sons on Shabbat. Joseph concealed his identity from his brothers but he exhibits it in his own home. The question is not why we celebrate Chanukah, but what does Chanukah teach us? We learn from the courage, strength and challenges of the Maccabees against Hellenism. They struggled to remain Jews in spite of the Hellenistic influence and laws prohibiting holidays, Shabbat, and study of Torah, and prayer in the Temple. The Jews of the year 168 BCE did not assimilate to the majority culture. They retained their identity. In this Haftorah, from Zachariah, we read, "Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." It is not force or physicial strength, but inner strength, that we learn from Chanukah and from this Parshat about Joseph... the strength to struggle with different systems of thinking and living... we struggle to retain our identity. May HaShem grant us this strength throughout our lives.... Who Are the Heroes of Chanukah By Sara Yoheved Rigler, an international lecturer on Jewish spirituality. A graduate of Brandeis University, after having practiced and taught meditation and Eastern philosophy, she has been living in Jerusalem since 1985 and presents a highly-acclaimed marriage workshop for women. The founders of the Jewish Olympics had a formidable task. To find a name for the games, they had to pick through Jewish history and find a hero who, if not actually athletic, was minimally physically fit. Two millennia of pasty-faced scholars did not qualify, so they reached back further. King David had a spindly physique and, as the author of Psalms, was remembered more for his lyrical poetry than his military conquests. The greatest war hero among the Biblical kings was perhaps Ahab, the husband of Jezebel, but he was a villain. The Ahab Games just wouldn t do. Then, voila! They found them: the Maccabees! These five brothers valiantly fought and vanquished the mighty Greek army. They were physically strong and morally upstanding. The games would be called the Maccabiah. After all, the Maccabees are the perfect role models for aspiring Jewish athletes. Or are they? Who Were the Maccabees Anyway? The Maccabees were distinguished by two traits: They were idealistic and they were undaunted by difficulty.

In terms of their idealism, the name Maccabee says it all. The five brothers were the sons of the elderly priest Mattathias. The family designation was Hasmonean. The appellation Maccabee is actually an acronym for Mi kimocha b eilim Hashem, meaning: Who is like You among gods, God! Maccabee is a statement of one-pointed dedication to the One God. The battle the Maccabees waged was the first war in history to be fought not for the sake of land or power, but for the sake of a religious ideal. For the first 160 years after Alexander the Great s peaceful takeover of Judea, the Greek Hellenists allowed their cultural influence to gradually win over the Jewish population. The urban elite of Jerusalem adopted Greek language, dress, and artistic and cultural mores, including the hitherto unknown pastime of engaging in sports. While physical strength and prowess were always valued for military conquest, the Greeks made athletics an end in itself, instituting competitions where the fastest/strongest/most adept were feted. In Jerusalem, they built a sports stadium to the south of the Holy Temple. There young Jews, including priests, competed naked. Many had their circumcision surgically reversed, for the Greeks idolized nature and spurned circumcision, the Jews sign of their covenant with God. The choice of the cosmopolitan residents of Judea to become Hellenists was simply conforming to a world trend. Greek culture, after all, was modern, enlightened, scientific, and universalistic, while Judaism was widely regarded as old-fashioned, tribal, and restrictive. In that era, taking on the Greek lifestyle was a prerequisite to becoming materially successful and culturally sophisticated. As historian Paul Johnson wrote: Acquiring Greek culture was a passport to first-class citizenship, as later would be baptism. [A History of the Jews, p. 99] Of course, all this was anathema to traditional Jews such as Mattathias, but as long as they were allowed to continue to study and observe the Torah, they submitted to Greek rule. All that changed in 167 B.C.E., when the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus issued a decree outlawing the practice and study of the Torah, on pain of death. Greek troops entered the village of Modi in and commanded the residents to sacrifice a pig to an idol. One obsequious Jew stepped forward to comply. An enraged Mattathias killed the apostate and the Greek officer. Then he, his sons, and a handful of his supporters fled to the hills. One can only imagine the discussion that took place that night in the cave where Mattathias and his five sons were hiding. As they huddled in the cold (because they dared not light a fire that would give away their whereabouts), they had to plan their next step. They never intended to start a war; they didn t dream of vanquishing the mighty, well-equipped Greek army. Only one thing was clear to them: They would continue to practice the mitzvot of the Torah, and no force on earth would stop them. And if Antiochus sent his troops to enforce his nefarious decree, they would fight those troops. They would fight for their religious ideals. The Maccabees were, first and foremost, idealists. Rabbi Noah Weinberg, z l, used to say: Figure out what you re willing to die for. Then live for it. That could have been the motto of the Maccabees. They were willing to die (and all five of them did die!) for God and His Torah. In that cave they decided to start fighting for that ideal. Had they been pragmatists, they would have cowered before the Greek army with its 40,000 well-trained, well-equipped troops, plus elephants, the tanks of the ancient world. Had they been realists, they would have surrendered to the zeitgeist of assimilation that had already swept their country and their people. But they were idealists, and an idealist does what s right, whatever the cost, whatever the result. Miraculously, they ended up winning. After three years of guerilla warfare, they drove the Greeks from Jerusalem and from the Holy Temple, and reinstituted the service in the Temple. It took them a full 26 years to achieve complete victory over the Greeks, and by that time four of the Maccabee brothers had been killed. Only Simon lived to witness the final withdrawal of the Seleucid Greek forces from Jerusalem, and seven years later he too was killed by a Seleucid plot. Idealists, the Maccabees both devoted their lives and gave their lives for their religious ideals.

ourselves to the very real miracles that play out in our lives everyday..... Dreidels and Daily Miracles By Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran, OU Kosher s vice president of communications and marketing. Ve al nisecha sh bechol yom imanu... For all Your miracles we receive each day from the She mone Esrei What does it take to experience a miracle? Nothing more than to live a life with eyes wide open. The truth is, we live in an age of miracles and wonder. Does that sound like a ridiculous statement to you to characterize the age of the Internet, gene therapy, and biological science as an age of miracles? For many people, the idea of miracles comes straight from the Medieval Age. They view miracles as fantasy and anti-science. Yet, I assure you that Judaism has the greatest regard for science. Science and miracles both true? Absolutely.... a laser physicist tells me that scientists who study particle physics are more likely to become religious. Scientists are notoriously hard to convince of anything. Yet, when these skeptical scientists see the perfect, natural order of the world, they decide nano and up, that this world was planned. The marvelous design before them becomes the miracle they need to become convinced. Indeed, it is quite often those scientists who study natural law in its greatest complexity and detail who appreciate miracles the most. The laws of science and nature guide our world. And miracles happen all the time. A contradiction? Not at all. The rub, as Hamlet might have suggested, is with how we define a miracle. A miracle is anything that should not happen in the logical, rational normal course of events. A miracle need not be fantastical. If we limit the things that constitute miracles to the earth standing still or events that run contrary to physical law, then we not only tarnish the laws that G-d has established for the physical world but we blind Over three hundred years ago King Louis XIV of France asked Pascal, the great philosopher of his day, to give him proof of the existence of miracles. Without hesitation, Pascal answered, Why, the Jews, your Majesty. The Jews. History does not tell us the king s reaction to this proof, but we do know exactly what Pascal meant by his answer because he explained it clearly in his masterwork, Pensees. In that work, he states that the fact that the Jewish people had survived even to his day was proof enough for him that miracles occur. After all, what rational explanation existed to make sense of our continued presence upon the world s stage? A more modern historian, Arnold Toynbee, wrote a ten-volume encyclopedia of human history. In the course of those many volumes the one thing that contradicted his universal rules that govern the inexorable decline of every people on earth was the continued flourishing of the Jewish people Only the Jews. Despite history s the brutal attempts to destroy us, we have managed to defy all predictions and logical expectation of our demise. Miraculous. History is littered with the powerful empires that worked mightily to ensure our demise from the Akkadians to the Babylonians to the Persians to the Third Reich. Jewish history indeed, Jewish existence defies rational explanation. We are a miracle. The miraculous is so essential to who we are that David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel, said, A Jew who does not believe in miracles is not a realist. The most dramatic threats to our existence have come from external forces; the more subtle and damaging arise from within the Jewish community. Jews too often embrace cultural norms that would diminish the uniqueness of Jewish life, as when we clamored to assimilate into Hellenistic culture during the early years of the Hellenistic Empire. It was only the miracle of Chanukah and by that I mean a good deal more than the oil lasting a full eight days that once again allowed us to survive as a dedicated people.

During the time of Antiochus, our prayer and repentance were not sincere. The people had assimilated. They were as the Greeks and so, in the beginning it was a mere handful of Hasmoneans leading the charge while most of our people failed to demonstrate the inspiration from below to earn G-d s abundant blessing from above. And yet G-d showered us with miracles. Despite the people s lack of faith, He provided us, mercifully, with inspiration from above. His inspiration was undeserved which made it all the more miraculous! And so, the specific miracles arrived and we emerged victorious victors; we rededicated the grand Temple and lit a miraculously burning oil. On Chanukah we spin dreidles upon which are inscribed the first letters of the words, neis gadol ha yah sham a great miracle happened there. (In Israel the letters on the dreidles spell out neis gadol ha yah po a great miracle happened here!) We rejoice with our dreidels, but we spin them specifically from their top part to constantly remind ourselves that Chanukah was a time when miracles came undeserved from G- d, when the Almighty bestowed His infinite compassion upon His people and things began to spin down to us in the form of undeniable miracles. How surprising that the dreidle, silly top, should carry such weight not only a theological truth and a statement about the role of the Jewish people in the miracle of Chanukah but also insight and knowledge into powerful historical dynamics. The Kabbalah, the compendium of Jewish mystical teachings, teaches us another aspect of the dreidel. In this understanding, the four letters do not represent a statement about G-d s presence in the world a great miracle happened there/here but rather they each represent one of four different historical empires Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman that tried to destroy the Jewish people. Four empires the likes of which the world had never seen. And the Jewish people? A relatively puny gathering of people dedicated to study and the performance of G-d s command. Is it any wonder that, when given the opportunity, we seek to assimilate and become part of these great cultures and empires? But something always holds us back. Internally and externally, we are different. We are like but not the same. So, against this backdrop of world history, are we simply spinning haphazardly from one tragedy to another? Or might there be some reason and meaning behind all the events that have punctuated our history? Our miraculous victory at Hanukah teaches us little about military strategy and everything about ourselves and the world, but about G-d as well. Without G-d, there are no miracles. Which brings me to our modest little dreidle. In its modesty, it teaches us a great deal about G-d. Just as the dreidle spins around a central point and topples when it begins to lose its connection to that point, so too do we begin to lose our footing when we begin to lose our connection to our center, to God. The dreidle teaches us about our own psychologies. We are only whole when all the aspects of our being body, mind, soul hakol are balanced and blended. When the dreidle spins, who can distinguish between each of the individual sides? No one! As we spin in perfect balance, on our central point, we are balanced and whole. Spin, spin, spin. When we face times of hardship and tragedy, the dreidle teaches us first and foremost that G-d is our G-d and we are His people. And if we believe in that ultimate meaning of the Jewish people; if we know that despite the dizzying blur of events in our history there is some purpose to the challenges we face, and if we are prepared to fight to remain Jews regardless of what history throws at us, then who knows we might just experience a miracle and be reassured that there is a hidden hand guiding the destiny of the Jewish people.

And yet and yet this sense of miracle is so mighty as to cause us to overlook the small miracles, the delightful miracles, that occur each and every day. Which brings us, once again, to the simple and fun little dreidle. Just like our little dreidle, miracles come in different and various sizes, some large and some small, but they are still miracles. Consequently, a miracle is not only some unexplained, supernatural circumstance. They could actually originate from you and me. Don t you think that any miracle can happen when you decide to finally volunteer your time to the local library? Be kinder or nicer to your spouse? Give some money to the beggar and spend some more quality time with your beloved children? Visit an elderly and lonely neighbor? How about giving a warm smile to a stranger? A miracle can also occur whenever a person hears his call of her or his life, pays attention to and acts on 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). My growing, personal collection of dreidles not only keeps my sense of wonder and delight fresh and young but is a constant reminder of the small miracles of life. Every day, I see G-d s miracles in a mother s kiss, a grandmother s doting smile, a father s proud expression. I see a community caring for itself and for others. The world is filled with miracles great and small and you do not have to be a particle physicist to see miracles. Not at all. Miracles are part of the Jewish world and experience. From Sinai and the splitting of the Red Sea, miracles are part of our national history. Our national memory helps Jews believe in miracles, and develop a stronger relationship with G-d. And so, we spin, delightfully in the world, aware of the miracles large and small which give our lives meaning, none greater than that G-d has reached out to us and made us His special people. 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 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..... In Those Days, At This Time Written by Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America. There s a striking irony in the fact that Chanukah is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays among American Jews. Cynics have contended that it s Chanukah s proximity to the Christian winter holiday, with all the latter s ubiquitous glitz, baubles and musical offerings, that has elevated Chanukah seen by some as a minor celebration, since it s a post- Biblical commemoration to the pantheon (if a Greek word is appropriate here) of popular Jewish observances. In fact, though, Chanukah is not minor at all; a wealth of Jewish mystical literature enwraps it, and laws (albeit rabbinical in origin) govern the nightly lighting of the holiday s candles and the recital of Al Hanisim ( For the miracles ) in our prayers over Chanukah s eight days. As to whether many American Jews are enamored of Frosty the Snowman, well, it s an open question. Me, I prefer my winter nights silent. But onward to the irony, which is not only striking but significant. I recall hearing a Reform rabbi on a public radio program a couple of years ago extolling Chanukah as a celebration of pluralism and tolerance. After all, the Greek-Syrian Seleucid enemy of the Jews at the time of the Chanukah miracle, he explained, were intolerant of Jewish religious practices. Well, yes, but the Jewish rebellion wasn t aimed at establishing some sort of Middle-Eastern First Amendment but rather to fiercely defend the study and practice of the Torah. And to rid the Temple of idols. Judaism has no tolerance at all for some things, idolatry prime among them. What is more, the Jewish uprising also and here we close in on the irony was to counter the influence on Jews of a foreign culture. To the Jewish religious leaders who established the observance of Chanukah, a greater threat than the flesh-and-blood forces that had defiled the Holy Temple was the adoption by Jews of Hellenistic ideals. For the Seleucids not only forbade observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, Jewish modesty laws and Torah-study, they held out to Jews the sweet but poison fruit of Greek culture, and some Jews devoured it whole. The enemy, in other words, didn t just install a statue of Zeus in the Temple, but an assimilationist attitude in some Jewish hearts. And Chanukah stands for the fight against that attitude. It s easy to dismiss the ancient Greek soap-opera that passed for divine doings, the gods who were described as acting like the lowest of men. It isn t likely that many Jews (or Greeks, for that matter) really believed the tales of celestial hijinks that passed for spirituality at the time.

But the ancient Greeks had something much more enticing to offer. Hellas celebrated the physical world; it developed geometry, calculated the earth s circumference, proposed a heliocentric theory of the solar system and focused attention on the human being, at least as a physical specimen. It philosophized about life and love. But much of Hellenist thought revolved around the idea that the enjoyment of life was the most worthwhile goal of man, yielding us the words cynic, epicurean, and hedonist all Greek in origin. Western society today revolves around pleasure too. It adopts the language of freedom and rights to disguise the fact, but it s a pretty transparent fig leaf. To be sure, most Jews in the U.S. remain stubbornly, laudably, proud of their Jewishness. But, all the same, they have been culturally colonized by a sort of contemporary Hellenism, American style. Which bring us if you haven t already guessed to the irony. Because Chanukah addresses neither pluralism nor tolerance (admirable though those concepts may be in their proper places), but rather Jewish identity and continuity, the challenges most urgently faced by contemporary American Jews. And its message stands right in front of them, in the flickering flames. The miracle of the lights, Jewish tradition teaches, was not arbitrary. Abundant meaning for the Jewish ages shone from the Temple candelabra s supernatural eight-day burning of a one-day supply of oil. For light, our tradition further teaches, means Torah, its study and its observance not contemporized, and not edited to conform to the Zeitgeist, but as it has been handed down over the centuries. When American Jews light their Chanukah candles they may not consider that the holiday they are acknowledging speaks most poignantly to them. But they should..... Maoz Tzur: A Sixth Stanza Written by Dr. Ron Wolfson, who is the Fingerhut Professor of Education at American Jewish University and the president of Synagogue 3000. This well-known Chanukah song summarizes historical challenges faced by the Jewish people that have been overcome with God's help. Yet this joyous song also contains a later addition, a sixth stanza composed three centuries after the original Maoz Tzur was written. The appearance of this little-known, rarely-sung stanza poses a challenge to modern Jewish sensibilities. It is a raw, emotional reaction to persecution faced by the Jewish community in Christian Europe. While being able to identify with the emotions that arise out of the historical circumstances, the call for Divine retribution is foreign to the modern ear. Nonetheless, the theological question of God s role in history raised in the last stanza of this song is a question that is still asked today. Maoz Tzur is undoubtedly the most famous of Chanukah songs. Composed in the 13th century of the Common Era by a poet only known to us through the acrostic found in the first letters of the original five stanzas of the song--mordecai-- it became the traditional hymn sung after the candlelighting in Ashkenazi homes. The familiar tune is most probably a derivation of a German Protestant church hymn or a popular folk song. Although many families attempt to sing the first stanza, either in the original Hebrew or in a not-so-accurate English translation by M. Jastrow and G. Gottheil entitled "Rock of Ages," the song as it has evolved through the years now contains six stanzas, the last stanza having been added by an unknown poet sometime during the 16th century. Unfortunately, due either to the exuberance of children rushing to open presents or general illiteracy with regard to Jewish liturgy, Maoz Tzur often gets a token singing at best, with the vast majority of Chanukah celebrants quite unaware of its true meaning.

In a fascinating look at Maoz Tzur, Professor Ismar Schorsch, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, examined the text of the poem in a penetrating article entitled "A Meditation on Maoz Zur" (Judaism, fall 1988, pp. 459-64). Explaining that he and his family fled from Germany on the first day of Chanukah, 1938, Schorsch says the singing of Maoz Tzur has always held special significance for him. Yet, he wonders, why was it that their practice was to sing the first five stanzas and not the later sixth? The theme of Maoz Tzur is a familiar one: God's unfailing redemption of the people Israel. After an opening stanza promising thanksgiving to God now and always, the poet recalls four moments of Divine intervention in chronological order: Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, and the Greeks of the Chanukah story. It is the sixth stanza that brings Schorsch to his analysis of the meaning of the poem. In a particularly blunt plea for revenge against the "wicked kingdom," the poet dares to wish for God to intervene once more and "vanquish Christianity in the very shadow of the cross." How could a Jewish poet who knew of the persecutions inflicted on his people by the Romans and their descendants be ignored at the triumphant moment of Chanukah? Yet, the addition of the sixth stanza calls into question the basic theology of the entire song. If God always redeems his people, why are we still awaiting the messianic kingdom? Schorsch turns our attention to Psalm 31, upon which the opening phrase, "Maoz Tzur" is based. The second verse of the Psalm reads: "I seek refuge in You, O Lord; may I never be disappointed; as You are righteous, rescue me." The midrash, the rabbinic commentary that seeks to expound the simple meaning of the text, pounces on the word "le'olam"--"never"--and poses one of the most difficult problems for a religious person: how to reconcile the continuous promise of redemption with the harsh reality of life. In the midrashic dialogue between the people Israel and God, Israel asks why, if God's redemption is everlasting, do we continue to suffer? "To be sure, You have already redeemed us through Moses, through Joshua, and through some judges and kings. But we have once again been subjugated and endure degradation as if we had never been redeemed." God responds that redemption effected through mere mortals is not true redemption, even if influenced by Divine intention. The author of the sixth stanza of Maoz Tzur, reeling from the shock of persecutions and expulsions, attached his messianic codicil. The previous redemptions, from the Babylonian exile to the Syrian-Greek oppressions, were of limited duration because they were mediated by men. The fourth kingdom, Christianity will only be overcome by God directly. Schorsch concludes that "taken together, the two strata of Maoz Tzur blend into a liturgical reflection on Jewish history--the precariousness of minority existence, the reality of Divine concern, the consolation of collective memory, and the rarity of true messianism." He warns us to be careful of emphasizing the human role of the Chanukah story and draws a parallel to the current political situation in Israel. Just as the Maccabees achieved only a limited "redemption," Schorsch warns that "messianism, properly understood, leads to political restraint." The true meaning of Maoz Tzur serves both to remind us of the harsh divergence between history and theology and to hold out the promise of ultimate redemption by the hand of God. Why not sponsor the Shabbat Chanukah Kiddush? Or another Shabbat or Yom Tov, or for any other occasion! Call or e-mail us to arrange for it! NOTES

.... 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.

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).

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-mizbei-ach 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 Bimtzula 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-shosha-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.

.... Dreidel: The Rules of the Game Long associated uniquely with the holiday of Chanukah is the children s game of dreidel. We present here one educator s take on the rules of the game! Written by Noam Zion, Director of Shalom Hartman Institute's Resource Center for Jewish Continuity. He specializes in teaching Jewish Holidays, Bible and Art. an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes half of the total plus one). d) Shin (outside of Israel) means "shtel" or "put in" [in Yiddish]. Peh (in Israel) means "pay." The player adds a game piece to the pot. 4. If you have no game pieces left, you are "out". When one person has won everything, the game is over! We suggest that if you use money to play the game, ask players to donate part or all of their winnings to tzedakah..... My Dreidel: I Made It Out of Clay Photo courtesy of Aharon s Judaica in Denver, CO. (Shown in the photo, from right to left, are the letters nun, gimmel, hey, and shin) The Hebrew word for dreidel is sevivon, which, as in Yiddish, means to turn around. Dreidels have four Hebrew letters on them, and they stand for the saying, Nes Gadol Haya Sham, meaning A great miracle occurred there. In Israel, instead of the fourth letter "shin," there is a "peh," which means the saying is Nes Gadol Haya Po -- a great miracle occurred here. The rules may vary, but here s how to play the basic dreidel game: 1. Any number of people can take part in this great game. Each player begins the game with an equal number of game pieces (about 10-15) such as pennies, nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, matchsticks, etc. 2. At the beginning of each round, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot." In addition, every time the pot is empty or has only one game piece left, every player should put one in the pot. 3. Every time it's your turn, spin the dreidel once. Depending on the outcome, you give or get game pieces from the pot: a) Nun means "nisht"or "nothing" [in Yiddish]. The player does nothing. b) Gimmel means "gantz"or "everything" [in Yiddish]. The player gets everything in the pot. c) Hey means "halb"or "half" [in Yiddish]. The player gets half of the pot. (If there is The Dreidel Song Chorus: Oh Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel I made it out of clay Oh Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel Then Dreidel I shall play. It has a lovely body, With legs so short and thin. And when it gets all tired, It drops and then I win Repeat the Chorus... My dreidel's always playful, It loves to dance and spin. A happy game of dreidel, Come play, now let's begin! Repeat the Chorus one last time...!! Other songs for Chanukah? You can find the lyrics, or even the sheet music, for many of these songs on-line or at specialty Judaic shops... Chanukah Gelt Al Hanisim Light One Candle Mi Yimalel Lights I Have a Little Dreidel Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Candles, in Ladino) Ale Brider (We Are All Brothers, in Yiddish) Hope Hiney Ma Tov Chanukah's Flame Chanukah 'O Chanukah Maoz Tzur... and so many more!

KCT in 2018-5779....... And We End With Some Jewish Humor Yes, the photo below is real, but we gladly leave it to you to develop your own caption for the photo. Maybe have a Chanukah contest with your children and other family members, to find the best caption! We thank Kehillat Israel in Lansing MI for the photo. NOTES A community made complete by your participation and passion. Chag Chanukah Sameach!!

KCT Annual Chanukah Kiddush Luncheon Shabbat December 8 th in the KCT Kiddush Room following Shabbat services 9:00 AM All are invited as guests of the Kehillah. Bring family, friends and neighbors! RSVP s will allow us to plan appropriately! RSVP@KCT.org no later than November 30