Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

Rabbi Gurevitz' creative works: Podcast, blogs, videos and more

Category: Chanukah (Page 2 of 3)

Rabbi Santavitch is coming to town (with some help from a shmelf)

December 7, 2010 /

My brother runs 2002 studios (http://www.2002studios.com) – a music and content production company.  Its a very diverse company that does everything from original composition and arrangement, to recording and engineering albums, to voice-overs, to computer games … anything where sound is needed in any multi-media context.  Recently he was asked to contribute the music to a seasonal computer game, originally called ‘A little helper: Christmas Collect’, my brother suggested to the game designers, ‘Why not add a Chanukah option?’  Sure enough they did.  You now have the option of answering the question ‘What are you celebrating?’ with either ‘Christmas’ or ‘Chanukah’.

When you select the ‘Chanukah’ option, you are introduced to the scenario: ‘Rabbi Santavitch is packing his Chanukah and holiday season gifts onto his snow mobile to take to the local Jewish Community Center for his Jewish and multifaith friends.  Whilst on his way to the community center, he didn’t notice his presents falling all over the frozen lake …’

We discover that it is our job to play the part of the shmelf who wants to help out by skating over the lake, collecting the gifts.

Obviously, we’re having fun with the Santa story, but this is one of those Chanukah moments that I really love; a Jewish expression of the universal spirit of gift-giving and helping to spread some light and happiness around.  Its not deep but it is an important part of the wider culture of this season and, so often, when families fret about how to make Chanukah ‘compete’ with the Christmas season, what we’re missing is that the piece that everyone wants to be part of is the spirit of giving and receiving.  Its fun, it feels good, and we want to be a part of it too.  And I’m not bothered about borrowing from the broader culture in this playful way.  We all get the joke.  And the wonderful irony of Chanukah is that, if you look at just about every single feature of ‘traditional Chanukah celebration’ (the menorah, the latkes, the dreidle, the tune of Maoz Tzur…) you’ll find that we’ve borrowed every single one of them from another culture (the Canaanites, Eastern Europe, a medieval gambling game, the earliest form of which has been traced back to Anglo-Saxon England in the Tenth Century, and a medieval German marching tune!)

Its a cute little game that is – beware – rather addictive.
So… a little gift from the Gurevitz clan – play the game here.  Enjoy, share with your friends and a very happy 7th night of Chanukah!
Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

Hanukkah: Shining a Light on Freedom of Religion

December 3, 2010 /
Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, falls on December 1st this year.  The Festival of Lights, originating in the celebration of the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek Empire and the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BCE, has come to symbolize many eternal and universal themes over the centuries, particularly themes of hope and creating light in dark times.  In American life today, it is not unusual for these eternal and universal messages to be blended with contemporary concerns.  
So, for example, a Jewish environmental group (www.coejl.org) launched a CFL light bulb campaign a few years ago, re-reading the ancient story of the miracle of the little jar of oil found in the desecrated Temple by the Maccabees that lasted for eight nights instead of the expected one.  

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism draws lines of connection between the themes of Hanukkah and many contemporary social issues, urging us to use some of our time and resources to go beyond the donut-, latke-eating, and present-giving norms, and see the festival as inspiration to make a difference on issues of economic justice, and children’s issues, among others (http://rac.org/pubs/holidayguides/).
This year, a press release about another connection between the Festival and contemporary issues caught my attention.  In the time of the Maccabees, there had been many years of cultural assimilation, with Jews in the land of Israel absorbing and incorporating aspects of Syrian-Greek culture.  The rebellion came when there was a shift in Syrian-Greek perspective, and traditional Jewish practices and rituals became forbidden.  The Maccabees were fighting to restore their freedom to practice their religion.  While the story is more complicated than that, the theme remains all too relevant today.
This November, former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, launched a global education program ‘Face to Faith.’  In a press release from his Faith Foundation, he explained: “Face to Faith connects students aged 11-16 from different schools in 15 countries across the world via video-conferencing and a secure website. The program aims to break down stereotypes and broaden horizons by engaging students of different cultures, religions and beliefs in discussing global issues from different perspectives.”  A number of schools across the USA are already involved.  But I was also encouraged and moved to learn that Mr. Blair is launching the program in Israel on the first night of Hanukkah at an event at the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, along with their Muslim counterparts from the El Gazali School in Um el Fahm.
What an inspiring message for us all this year at Hanukkah!  The respect for religious freedom necessitates our interacting with each other and learning about each other.  Every Spring for the past three years, I’ve been involved in a program that brings Jewish, Christian and Muslim teens together to learn more about each other.  This coming year, on April 3rd, the Council of Churches Bridge Building Ministry will be running their Annual Youth Conference (contact info@ccgb.org to learn more).
As we light the candles each night of Hanukkah this year, think of another faith group that you wish to know more about.  Commit to reading something online (www.beliefnet.com is a wonderful resource), find a local class, visit another place of worship, invite a faith speaker into your community, or organize an interfaith dialogue program between members of your community and that of another faith.
May the light of your faith shine brightly and contribute to a more tolerant, compassionate, and loving world.
Happy Hanukkah!

This article was published this week in several local town newspapers in Fairfield County by the Hersam Acorn consortium.

Meditating on the Menorah for Chanukah

December 1, 2010 /

This Chanukah, I will be spending the first few days of the festival at a silent meditation retreat.  The retreat is being held at The Garrison Institute and will be led by Sylvia Boorstein and Sharon Salzberg.  It isn’t specifically a retreat on the themes of Chanukah.  Rather, the focus will be on some of the central themes of meditation practice – cultivating compassion, generosity and integrity.  But for me, personally, there is a connection to the spiritual message of Chanukah.

The story of the little jar of oil that miraculously lasted for eight days instead of one is the eternal story of keeping the flame of hope alive, even in dark times.  Rabbi Akiva taught that, once the lights of the menorah in the Temple in Jerusalem could no longer be kept alight at all times, following the destruction of the 2nd temple in 70 CE, we now had to understand the commandment to keep the fires burning at all times as a metaphor for the fires of the spirit and faith within.

In Jewish tradition, we are blessed with the practice of Shabbat – a weekly opportunity to replenish our little jar of oil that can help to sustain us.  Our lives can become so busy and stressed that we fail to allow the space to just breathe and notice where we are.  To take one day, or even one hour, to simply be and reflect can help us refocus on where we are, who we are, and where we want to be in our lives.  Meditation practice is one way to create a vessel to help us to do this on a regular basis in our own lives.  Taking an extended period of time in a meditation retreat can help deepen the practice and expose us to the possibilities that the practice can reveal to us.

Many cannot afford the luxury of a 4 day retreat – this is my first in over 6 years.  For me, it is a time of re-dedication to my own spiritual practice.  Chanukah means dedication, originally referring to the re-dedication of the Temple after the Maccabees regained control of Jerusalem from the Syrian-Greeks.  For me, it is a way to keep the fires burning at all times, ensuring that they do not go out.

Below is an opportunity to bring just a little meditation into your celebrations of Chanukah this year – just 15 minutes from Rabbi Miriam Klotz, from a podcast from the Institute of Jewish Spirituality.  You can find more podcasts and meditations at their website here.

Happy Chanukah – may your light within never go out, and may you be like the shamash – the one who lights the flames within others by the things that you do and the way that you walk in the world.
Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

Rabbi Myriam Klotz – Chanukah Meditation .mp3
Found at bee mp3 search engine

Let’s do the Time-Warp Again? A Response to Bruce Feiler

November 22, 2010 /
This past weekend’s ‘Style’ section in the New York Times contained a couple of thought-provoking Jewish-themed pieces.  I’m leaving the one about Bar mitvah studies on the Web to our Director of Education, Ira Wise, who has written a great blog response here.  The other article that caught my eye was ‘Time-Shifting Holidays’, written by Bruce Feiler.
In this latter piece, Feiler confesses that, having brought the family together for Thanksgiving, which they celebrate a day late, they then conclude ‘…the following day when we celebrate all eight nights ofHanukkah in one madcap afternoon.’

Feiler acknowledges that he has heard the disapproval of a Rabbi who critiques this pragmatic decision because it makes the family dining room the hub of Jewish life instead of Jewish community in the wider sense.  Toward the end of the article, the Rabbi gets to speak again, this time somewhat acknowledging the good intentions of bringing a seasonal Jewish festival into the home at a time when the extended family is present to share the celebration, but encouraging the individual elements of that family to seek out a community where they can also celebrate at the appointed time back in their various home towns.  I rather like that answer (although I might not have been so begrudging in the way I would put it).  

But it seems to me that there is much of importance that is left unsaid.  That a Jewish family wants to take advantage of the hard-to-find opportunities to be together to acknowledge and celebrate the Jewish in their lives is important and admirable.  Jewish organizations and community professionals can be thinking of resources that we might provide to help families make these festival celebrations meaningful in their home settings.  For those who live far from a synagogue community, there are other models of creating Jewish community with non-family members (the chavurah – a smaller, less structured gathering of families from a geographical area – being the most obvious model), and there is value in doing so.

What struck me about Feiler’s piece, and the other piece that highlighted the use of technology to facilitate bar and bat mitzvah training without the need to be part of a Jewish community (although, as Ira shares in his blog, the technology is valuable in many ways within the context of synagogue community life too), is how little was conveyed about the purpose of being part of a larger Jewish community.

Too often I hear critiques of the kind expressed in these articles where the argument ‘but you  are separating yourself from the community’ is presented as a fait a complis – it is assumed that everyone knows what that means and that those who make an active choice not to join a community are either woefully ignorant about the centrality of community in Judaism or are intentionally choosing a scaled-down, privatized (and implied is often ‘selfish’) version of what our faith has to offer.

I assume neither of these things.  I think that articles like these provide wonderful opportunities for synagogue communities and Jewish professionals to think more deeply about what makes being part of a Jewish community meaningful in the lives of Jewish families and individuals.  And then to think about how to get better at conveying this meaning to those who haven’t ‘drunk the Kool-aid’ yet.  That’s not just those who are not yet affiliated with our communities, but also those who are affiliated but have done so with the narrow agenda of giving their children a Jewish education through to the end of middle school and who haven’t been adequately exposed to the far greater potential that exists for their entire family in engaging with the community in a more holistic way – one that will continue to be meaningful when their children have grown up and left home.

How we do that is not something easily conveyed in a brief, sound-bite blog answer.  Its something that is experienced more than described, so the first step is about getting better at sharing the experience, so that others will want to have that experience too.  Congregants who have fallen in love with celebrating, doing social action, comforting, learning, and sharing life’s transitional moments (birth, weddings, bar mitzvah, funerals of loved ones etc.) in the context of community are some of the best ambassadors of meaningful Jewish community life.  I love seeing members of our congregation post something on their Facebook about their anticipation of a community event, or sharing the pleasure of having just returned from one; if I’m seeing it on their wall, then so are all their other Facebook friends.  When that leads to a trail of comments and ‘likes’, the feel good of Jewish community life can become infectious.

I recently heard about a wonderful email sent out by one person to a group of others about our Young Families Chavurah – a great opportunity to start experiencing meaningful Jewish community life while our children are still very young, which meets at B’nai Israel every Shabbat morning from 9.15 a.m.-11 a.m.  This young mother hadn’t had an opportunity to attend with her children since the program started, but she’d heard such great things about it that she was looking forward to her first opportunity to do so, and hoped other families would join her family in tasting this experience for themselves.  There is no flyer and no email that the professional staff of our synagogue could have created to better convey the potential of participating in the chavurah than this one mother’s email to her peers.

We’ve still got plenty of work to do at B’nai Israel, but one of the things we’ve learned is the importance of putting the structures and means of communication in place so that everyone in our community can access community living, and be a part of sharing that experience with others.  This blog is just a little slice of communicating that message and, if you’re looking for your way in to the experience of being a part of a vibrant, Jewish community, I hope we can help you find the gateway that is right for you.
Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

8th candle: Emanating sparks of light, dispelling darkness

December 18, 2009 /

The 8 blogs of Chanukah. Each night a new blog from the community of Congregation B’nai Israel.

Tonight, the eighth and last blog of Chanukah is brought to you by Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon and Rabbi Nir Barkin of Kehilah YOZMA – the sister congregation of B’nai Israel in Modi’in, Israel.  Yozma means ‘initiative’, and the name of the congregation is also an acronym standing for Yahadut Zmaneinu Moreshet Ha’am, meaning ‘Judaism of our time, heritage of our people’.  You can learn more about the congregation, including ways of supporting the community, here.

We welcomed the month of Kislev at YOZMA with an intensive study weekend in the northern part of Israel focused on the subject of “Understanding the different approaches to Faith and Belief in Judaism” Kislev is the month dedicated to the celebration of light! It comes at a time when the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest in the calendar year. The lighting of the Chanukah candles reminds us of the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the amazing victory of the Jewish people over the tyranny of the Syrian ‐ Greek rule. Light brings a sense of clarity, joy and warmth into our lives. Light is a universal symbol of hope and faith.

At one of the workshops we participated in an exercise in painting. The exercise demanded of us to work with the concepts of light and darkness. It was a fascinating experience for all of us. We learned that darkness descends from the margins into the center and that light radiates out from the center towards the margins. When we think about the movement of light in this way and apply it to the spiritual and emotional realms of our lives we can begin to understand our potential for rekindling light into our darkest moments. When we observe the margins carefully we can try to recognize what outside influences cause the darkness to descend upon us and respond appropriately. And then once we realize that we have the ability to spark light from our inner self ‐ from our own center ‐ we can illuminate brand new regions of our daily lives.

In chapter 2 of the Midrash Pesikta Rabbati, (a collection of stories and explanations of the festivals and other special occasions) we learn that: “There are seven dedications that have been achieved by light : The creation of the world by moonlight, the Tabernacle and two Temples by the seven‐branched menorah, the festival of the Maccabees by the eight‐branched menorah, the walls of Jerusalem by torches, and the millennium by the sevenfold light of the sun”.

Let us suggest an additional dedication making the grand total of eight to parallel the eight days we celebrate Chanukah: As we the members of YOZMA light our chanukiot this year – with the awareness that our many friends and supporters will also be lighting their chanukiot across the sea – together, let us all dedicate ourselves to finding that inner light that shines in our centers and bring it forth into the world.  How so very bright our days will be…

Chag Urim Sameach – Happy Chanukah!
Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon and Rabbi Nir Barkin


7th candle: God, Humanity & Redemption through partnership

December 17, 2009 /

The 8 blogs of Chanukah. Each night a new blog from the community of Congregation B’nai Israel.


Tonight, the seventh blog of Chanukah is brought to you by Dr. Lisa Grant.  Lisa is a member of both Congregation B’nai Israel and Beth El.  She is Associate Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, on the New York campus.  Lisa has done extensive research and writing on Israel education.  She regularly chants Torah at B’nai Israel on a Shabbat morning, and has contributed in many other ways since her arrival in our community two years ago, teaching adult education classes and giving several divrei Torah at services.  She is married to Dr. Billy Weitzer, Senior Vice President of Fairfield University, and they have two adult children, Hannah and Nate.

Hanukkah is one of the most celebrated holidays in American Jewish life and there are probably more Jews who know at least one Hanukkah song than for any other holiday.  Even public school Holiday concerts often include a Hanukkah song such as “I Have a Little Dreidl” or “Light One Candle” or my all-time favorite for the silliness factor Debbie Friedman’s “I am a Latke.”  But my favorite Hanukkah song is a Hebrew one and my holiday celebration would be incomplete without singing it at least a few times over the eight nights. It’s called “Mi Yimalel” or “Who Can Retell”. 
I learned this song as a child and confess that I didn’t give much thought to the words for many years.  It has a lively tune with simple words that are fun to sing in a round.  The song doesn’t mention the miracle of oil; it doesn’t talk about religious freedom.  It’s just a gleeful celebration of the heroes who rise up in every age to save the Jewish people from disaster.  Here are the lyrics as they are usually sung in English with the more literal translation included in parentheses:
Who can retell the things that befell us? (heroic deeds of Israel)
Who can count them?
In every age, a hero or sage (arises)
Came to our aid (To redeem the people).
Hark!! (Listen!)
The second part of the song is translated much less often.  These words name Judah Maccabee as the hero of that time long ago, but say that now all Israel must unite together to redeem themselves.
In those days at this season
Judah the Maccabee saved us.
Now in these days all the people of Israel
Must unite and rise to redeem themselves.
The song was composed by Menashe Ravina a Ukrainian Jew who made aliyah to Palestine (pre-State Israel) in 1924.  It is one of hundreds of folk tunes that were composed throughout the 20th century to express and embed Zionist ideology into Israeli culture.  The song is based on a biblical verse from Psalm 106 that is also part of traditional liturgy both in Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals) and the Hymn of Glory that Orthodox and some Conservative congregations sing at the end of Shabbat morning services.  Here’s that verse in Hebrew, transliteration and English translation: 
:Iœ,ŠK¦v§T›kŠF ‹gh½¦n§J³Ãh v·²u«v±h ,IÉrUc±D k‡K©n±Óh h½¦n
Mee y’maleil g’vurot Adonai, Yashmi’a kol t’hilato
Who can tell the mighty acts of Adonai?  Who can declare all God’s praise?
As a Labor Zionist, Ravina embraced the notion that it was up to human beings to save the Jewish people, not God.  For Ravina, saving the Jewish people meant building up the Jewish State. So Mi Yimalel is a celebration of the classical secular Zionist notion that the Jewish people, not God will be the ones to reclaim, resettle, and re-establish Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel. 
At an earlier point in my life, I think I would have endorsed these words more strongly than I do today where they raise profound questions for me theologically and ideologically. I’m not  at all sure we Jews should or could go it alone, without God’s help in our individual lives and in our collective future.  I’m also not altogether comfortable thinking about Jewish history as simply a string of disasters that require salvation.  There’s much much more to celebrate than that.  But, in the meantime I still sing this song, joyfully at Hanukkah.  I sing it because of its history and also because I believe that as God’s partners, we are ultimately responsible for  here in America, in Israel and all other places where Jews dwell.  
The lyrics to the song are included below as are two youtube links to hear two very different renditions!
Chag Urim Sameach!! May the lights of Hanukkah bring you happiness during this festive time.
Mi Yimalel
?v®b§n°h h¦n i¨,Ut k¥t¨r§J±h ,IÉrUc±D k‡K©n±Óh h¦n
/oŠg¨v k¥tUD rUC°d©v oUe²h rIs kŠf‰C i¥v
!g©n§a
v®Z¨v i©n±z‹C o¥v¨v oh¦n²h‹C
/v¤sUpU ‹gh¦aUn hˆCF©n
k¥t¨ra±h o‹g kŠF Ub¥n²h‰cU
!k¥t²D°h±u oUe²h s¥j©t§,°h
Mee y’maleil g’vurot Yisrael, otan mee yimneh?
Hein b’chol dor yakum ha’gibor
Go-eil ha’am.
Sh’ma!
Ba’yamim ha’hem ba’zman ha’zeh.
Makabi moshiyah u’fodeh
U’v’yameinu kol am Yisrael
Yit’ached yakum v’yiga’el.
Who can retell the things that befell us? (heroic deeds of Israel)
Who can count them?
In every age, a hero or sage (arises)
Came to our aid (To redeem the people).
Listen!
In those days at this season
Judah the Maccabee saved us.
Now in these days all the people of Israel
Must unite and rise to redeem themselves.

6th candle: The Lights Won’t Go Out in Afula

December 16, 2009 /
The 8 blogs of Chanukah. Each night a new blog from the community of Congregation B’nai Israel.


Tonight, the sixth blog of Chanukah is brought to you by Emek Medical Center – Hospital of Peace, located in Afula, which is a partner region with Fairfield County.  In cross-communal partnership, with the local Federation, we have had an ongoing relationship with Afula and with the Emek Medical Center.  More information on how you can contact them is found at the end of tonight’s blog.  Here is their Chanukah message, and some information about their work from Dr. Orna Blondheim, Director.

The Lights Won’t Go Out

A candle in the wind; violent, whipping, swirling gusts … moving rocks and water before its mighty force.  People cower before the maelstrom, covering their eyes, turning their backs so as not to see, not to hear … waiting for quiet … when it is safe to raise their heads.  Not only does the single candle inexplicably continue to burn, but another and another join it – standing defiantly in the face of the onslaught.  When the first should have been blown into oblivion, now eight glow; challenging, mocking the forces set against them.  Darkness should have prevailed, but the flickering lights would not go out.  Those little flames would not submit to the power that should have engulfed them.  Many have tried to explain this improbable resilience.  Many pray for stronger winds … instead of simply enjoying the light in the dark.  Those who choose to move closer to the stubborn flames are treated to warmth and illuminations of wonders within the light.  Move closer to the radiance or turn away, the choice is yours.  When the winds die down and the dust settles and people are no longer afraid to raise their heads – they will see that the candles are still burning.  Within that glow is a life force, more obstinate than any tempest.
We are an infinitesimal component of the flame and we know that you too have felt the warmth.  Stay close and together let’s stand firm against the winds.







Dear friends,
Yesterday
It is most encouraging to see the improved facilities and 
expanded services that Emek has achieved over the past 
several years. Our growing family of friends around the 
world has played an important role in our ability to better 
serve the people of Israel. Since October 2000 the trauma 
from unprecedented terror has affected us all. Emek 
Medical Center has stood firm in the eye of the hurricane 
and managed to maintain its standing as an island of sanity. 
We have proven over the years that all the people of our 
region, Jews and Arabs alike may depend upon us to treat 
every patient with unprejudiced dedication. Despite the 
strains on our limited resources, we have, with essential 
help from our friends, been able to meet some of the many 
challenges we face and we hope that more of you will be 
joining our family.

Today
I am so proud of the entire staff of this institution, as it is 
thanks to their dedication and sensitivities that Emek has 
repeatedly been voted #1 in patient satisfaction. Despite 
the loving care we provide and even with the completion 
of our West Tower, approximately 50% of our patients are 
still hospitalized in sub-standard conditions. Israel’s health 
care establishment is in the midst of an acute economic crisis. 
Every hospital has been affected and Emek’s ability to maintain 
its level of services is being eroded. The immense challenge 
facing us today is to continue growing while increasing our 
level of efficiency without negatively affecting our high medical 
standards or our excellent patient relationships. Most pressing 
of all is our need for more operating theaters. Our current surgical 
facilities cannot cope efficiently with the normal caseload of a 
growing population and every mass casualty terror event only 
exacerbates an already critical situation. Plans are now drawn 
for a new Surgical Complex that will eventually include 12 
ultra-modern Operating Rooms, a new Sterile Supply Unit 
and various surgical departments. Our primary focus, in order 
to answer immediate needs, is to first build and equip 4 — 6 
new Operating Rooms. Funding will determine the rate of 
further progress. We salute all of our friends who have joined 
us in our quest .to provide better healthcare for our people.

Click here for more information about the Emek Medical Center, 
or to offer support.

5th candle: Raise it up!

December 15, 2009 /


The 8 blogs of Chanukah. Each night a new blog from the community of Congregation B’nai Israel.


Tonight, the fourth blog of Chanukah is brought to you by Rabbi David Nelson.  Rabbi Nelson will be our scholar-in-residence, March 19-20, 2009.  He is Rabbi and Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Bard College. He is a Fellow at CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and was the Associate Director of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. He is the author of Judaism, Physics and God: Searching for Sacred Metaphors in a Post-Einstein World, published by Jewish Lights.

You probably know that each night we light a Hannukah menorah (also called a Hannukiyah in Hebrew), we light one candle the first night, two the second night, three the third night, and so on. But you probably don’t know the origin of this practice. In the early days of the period of the Talmud (that is, the first few centuries of the Common Era), there was a dispute between two groups of rabbis, one called Beit Hillel and the other called Beit Shammai. Beit Shammai held that the proper procedure was to light eight lights the first night, and to decrease by one light on each successive night of the holiday, while Beit Hillel claimed that we should start with one light on the first night and increase by one each night until all eight are burning on the last night. As we know, Beit Hillel won the argument, and theirs is the procedure that we follow. But the question is “why?” 

Beit Shammai based their ruling on a similarity that they saw between Hannukah and the festival of Sukkot (Booths – the harvest festival that we celebrated earlier in the fall). The law required that 70 animals be sacrificed in the Temple during Sukkot, starting with 13 on the first day and decreasing by one each day (so 12 on the second day, 11 on the third, and so on). Beit Hillel based their view on a general Jewish principle that we may increase in holiness, but we may not decrease.  

This general principle, which we see in clear, visual terms as the nights of Hannukah progress, strikes me as a wise rule for life in general. Each of us holds dear something that we consider “sacred.”  It may not be something “religious” in the traditional sense. It could be the love we feel for those close to us, or the passion we have for learning, or the commitment we have to improve the state of our world. The principle articulated by Beit Hillel directs us always to increase the amount of that holiness in our lives.

Whatever it is that we care most about, we should always try to do more of it in the future than we have done in the past.

4th candle: It’s going to take some Rededication

December 14, 2009 /



The 8 blogs of Chanukah. Each night a new blog from the community of Congregation B’nai Israel.


Tonight, the fourth blog of Chanukah is brought to you by Jon Sonneborn.  Jon and his wife, Cleo, are long-time members of B’nai Israel.  They have three grown children, Samuel, Jonathan, and Jessica.  Jon has gifted B’nai Israel with his talent for creative writing on many occasions, such as lyrics for songs, contemplative poems for the High Holydays, and now, with a thought-provoking short story for Chanukah.


“I’m tired,” Benny thought as he turned away from the kids and stood there a moment, before starting down the hall.
“Where are you Lynn?”
She was in the kitchen, playing with the oil for the latkes, and didn’t hear him.
“And don’t touch those damn matches, Sam.”  His voice was angry and loud and he knew it carried back to the family room.  Benny had logged online at his desk when he heard Ray-Lee whimpering. 
“Oh G-d, it never ends.”  He got up abruptly to rush back.
Sam was patting his sister’s hair.  “It’s all right Tiger,” he whispered.  Ray-Lee shook her teary face.
“Are you bothering her?”
Sam shook his head, and Benny was surprised to hear his five year-old daughter speak up.  “It isn’t Sammy.  He isn’t cross on the first night of Chanukah.”
Benny closed his eyes. So that’s why Sam had the matches.  He turned and saw the menorah on the mantel, then took a deep breath.
Ray-Lee stopped crying. Sam looked up at his dad and waited, just as their mother walked into the room.
“You’re just in time,” she said.
“Maybe not, Lynn.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“Can you all wait right here, just for a moment?  I’ve got to go in and change.”
“You look fine.”  But Benny smiled and repeated, “I’ve got to go in and change.”
He closed the bathroom door, threw some water on his face and looked hard at his reflection.  “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Which is when he decided, at that very moment; the light coming from somewhere deep inside the mirror.
As they lit the candles that first night of Chanukah, Benny watched over Sammy and Ray-Lee and Lynn and hoped that the rededication had come in time. 

3rd candle: What if the world were a Hanukiyah or maybe a salad?

December 13, 2009 /




The 8 blogs of Chanukah. Each night a new blog from the community of Congregation B’nai Israel.


Tonight, the third blog of Chanukah is brought to you by Andrea Rudolph.  Andrea is a member of B’nai Israel.  She is a regular at Friday night services, playing clarinet in the B’nai Israel band, and often playing solo instrument at other services.  Andrea is also a composer, as you’ll learn from her blog tonight.  Among her many projects and talents, Andrea is teaching a course at B’nai Israel, beginning January 4th, The Holiness of Wholeness: Exploring God and Ourselves, about the attributes of the soul.  She also co-leads Chantsformations: a Jewish mantra chanting and meditation hour each month at the Soma Center for Well-Being, with Rabbi Gurevitz.  Her husband, Mike, is the leader of the B’nai Israel band.  They have two children, Benjamin and Jacob.


When my boys were in elementary school, one of the highlights of December was their winter concert.  My younger son played trombone in the band and my older son played violin in the orchestra.  Even more than seeing my own children on stage, I loved hearing the fifth grade choir sing their hearts out.  I was taken by the vision of eighty – ten and eleven year olds inspiring peace and holiday cheer with their voices, choreography and spirit.  “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me”, the children crooned while images of people from around the world flashed on a screen behind them.  Tears always fall from my eyes when I see and hear children singing about peace.  Seeing them united in song and celebration gives me hope for our world and opens my heart. 
A few years ago, motivated by the vision of young people united by music, I wrote a Chanukah song called Nine Candles.  It started with this image of a Hanukiyah (the Chanukah menorah): 
What if the world was a Hanukiyah,
Red and green,
Blue and white?
What if each candle
Spread warmth and light,
Joy and peace,
Banished anger and spite?
What would the world be like if we saw ourselves linked together – distinct yet united with a common purpose to shed more light in the world?  There’s a human flaw of ego that believes that peace will come by convincing others to believe as we believe.  But that belief is based on the assumption that differences prevent us from achieving a greater purpose.   But there are many experiences that teach us otherwise.
Years ago, I worked with a woman who challenged my understanding of unity and the “melting pot” myth we hold so dear in our country.  Mary was a brilliant, energetic executive director of an agency that worked with refugees and immigrants.  She had a passion for justice that took her from Haiti to Macedonia to the State Capitol in the 1990’s.  When I first met Mary, I couldn’t quite figure out her ethnicity.  (Why we so often have a need to “figure someone out” is another conversation but in this case I learned a lesson which changed my perspective forever.)  After working with Mary for a few weeks, I found myself attending a meeting with her.  As we walked back to the office after the meeting, we explored the subject of immigrant integration and assimilation to American culture.  My initial belief (at that time) was that the more cultures interacted and even intermarried, the more likely it would be for peace to prevail on earth.  “Wouldn’t peace be more likely if the boundaries of separation between countries, cultures, people and religions blurred?”, I wondered out loud. 
Mary presented me with an image:  “Imagine you were making a beautiful salad.  You put the lettuce in a large bowl.  Then you add cucumbers and carrots, celery and tomatoes.  You mix in some red onion and croutons for more flavor, spice and crunch.  Then you make a nice dressing, pour it on top and toss…..Now imagine if I told you take that same salad and put it in a blender, what would your salad look like now? How would it taste?”  I remember stopping mid-stride on a Boston sidewalk to let it sink in.  Then she looked at me and said, “My mother is a white Irish American woman, my father was Filipino.  They met during the war years ago.  Each of those pieces of who I am makes up my own salad.  By diluting, denying or blending any culture for the sake of assimilation, we lose the rich, crispy, color and taste of that “salad”.  That’s not the kind of world I want to live in.”

Many years later, I can look back on that conversation and see how it has impacted my perspective on diversity and creating bridges of understanding.  I have learned that it is indeed the uniqueness of each person that inspires and connects us to the whole of humanity.  Our power to influence peace and change in the world is most effective when we both shine our own light and admire someone else’s.  Standing proudly next to someone else linked by the common goal of humanity  (just as the candles in the Hanukiyah stand next to one another in remembrance of the miracle of Chanukah), we can learn to live fully with joy, purpose and compassion.   Who determines joy, purpose and compassion?  It rests with each of us to discern which vegetable we are in that salad, or which color candle in that Hanukiyah.  
In the words of Martha Graham,
There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.
May you always stand ready and proud to shine your unique light into the world, adding to the beauty and magnificence of all creation.  Many blessings for a season filled with light, peace and compassion. 


Listen to Andrea’s song, ‘Nine Candles’ below:


« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑