Displaying 1 - 8 of 8
Hanukkah: More Than Just Presents?
This weekend, we will gather together with family or friends (or, if you’re on the RAC staff, with 215 high school students at L’Taken) around the Chanukah lights, spin the dreidel, eat latkes and sufganyot and engage in the great “applesauce or sour cream” debate.
Rise up Maccabean Style for Rights of the Disabled
The sages of the Talmud had a debate about how we are to light the Chanukah menorah: Should we begin with eight candles and remove one each night, or begin with one and add through the holiday?
Don’t Curse the Darkness, Light a Candle
In his essay, “The Legacy of the Maccabees,” Dr. Shaye Cohen writes: “From the perspective of world history and Jewish history, the Hasmonean (Maccabean) revolt was epoch making.
Be a Lamplighter: A Reflection on Newtown and Darkness
I have a bunch of blog posts brewing in my head, but felt like I couldn't write anything until I wrote about Newtown. But, what could I say? What can I say?
The History of Hanukkah Gifts: Is This Custom Really a Jewish One?
The contemporary custom of wrapping presents gifts arose in conjunction with Christmas, but many aspects of gift-giving have distinctly Jewish roots, each of which has helped set the stage for the development of the ritual into what it is today.
How to Host a Mahj Madness "Fun"draiser at Your Temple
Many Baby Boomers remember listening to the sounds of tiles clicking on their mother’s game tables and smelling the smoke wafting from their cigarettes. Usually a lovely lunch or snack was served by the hostess and the games went on for hours. This was the social world of Post WWII housewives.
The Melodies of the Four Questions: Mah Nishtanah Tunes for Passover
Do you remember the first time you were called upon to recite the four questions? There is nothing quite like the sound of the youngest child making a first attempt at the four questions.
Numbers, Stories, and a Long Tradition of Ritual
Parashat Sh'mini —the eighth day; how many of our parashiyot start with a number?