Ms. Miriam Bessin
Dean of Students, Ulpanat Orot
A really neat feature of candles is that you can light as many candles as you’d like and it won’t diminish or take away anything from the original candle. This idea is mentioned in the Midrash in Shemot Rabba 36:3:
כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה, מָה הַנֵּר הַזֶּה כְּשֶׁהוּא דּוֹלֵק אֲפִלּוּ אֶלֶף אֲלָפִים קָרוֹינִין וְסֶבָּקִין מַדְלִיקִין הֵימֶנּוּ אוֹר בִּמְקוֹמוֹ, כָּךְ כָּל מִי שֶׁיִּתֵּן לְמִצְוָה, אֵינוֹ מְחַסֵּר אֶת נְכָסָיו
According to Sefaria, this translates as, “For the Mitzvah is a lamp just as this lamp, when it is kindled, even thousands upon thousands of wax candles are kindled from it, its light remains undiminished. So too anyone who gives for a Mitzvah does not lose his property.”
The Midrash makes a very powerful point about Mitzvot and Tzedakah. When you give Tzedakah or even donate your time to a worthy cause, you’re not losing anything from yourself; rather, you’re allowing another person or organization to grow. This growth does not come at any expense to yourself, but, like one candle lights many others and increases the amount of light in an area, it increases positivity and Hashem’s presence in the world.
I’m still so moved by the recent visit of Micah Kaufman to BAS. Micah is a true embodiment of Chesed and stressed in his presentation that volunteering or doing something nice for someone else won’t have a negative impact on you—just like candles can help light other candles without extinguishing. This Chanukah, let’s look for more opportunities to increase our Chesed and our impact on other people, whether it’s something big or small. Chanukah Sameach.
Hallie and Rony Feldman
Grade 12 Students, Ulpanat Orot
Hanukkah is a holiday where we rededicate ourselves to HaShem through the light of the menorah. By lighting candles each night, we are reminding ourselves that although there is currently darkness around us, there will always be light. Interestingly, our declaration of rededication to Hashem and the Torah must be shouted aloud, by placing a lit menorah in our windows and telling the world who we are and where we come from. By doing so, we are telling the world to search for the light in their darkness.
We experience Chanukah in the winter time, when it is dark, cold, and dreary. When we light our Hanukkah candles, we are lifted from the darkness. We are lifted from our despair, our hope reignites and we are reminded the Hashem is in charge and is always watching over us. By publicizing the miracle of the Maccabees, we recognize that Hashem took care of us in our history and He continues to take care of us today.
The Maccabees, a small group of Jewish warriors, faced the Greek Empire and, by all accounts, should have lost. But Hashem was on our side and saved us. We won and we survived. We celebrate this by spinning dreidels, eating latkes, and lighting our candles because Hanukkah reminds us a great miracle happened once and it can happen again. This is the truth behind the holiday of Hanukkah, to rededicate ourselves to a life of Torah values, and to Hashem, who continues to ensure there is always light in the world.
Chag Sameach!
Dani Cohen and Kayla Levinson
Grade 12 Students, Ulpanat Orot
The Mishna in Middos (2:3) tells us that the Greeks made 13 holes in the walls of the Beit HaMikdash, which the Kohanim fixed and then they enacted 13 bowings in front of these breaches. What do these breaches and their repairs symbolize? Why are they important?
According to Gematria, 13 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word אֶחָד, meaning “one.” The Greeks sought to divide the Jewish people and destroy their unity, their one-ness, which is essential to both our physical and spiritual survival. In Yerushalayim, the city where we are meant to become united (Yerushalmi Chagiga 3:6), the Greeks tried to cause division. The 13 breaches in the wall represent their attempt to break down the unity of the Jewish people.
When the miracles of Chanukah happened and the Beis HaMikdash was rededicated, restoring Jewish unity became crucial. By bowing 13 times before Hashem, we express humility and remove the arrogance that leads to conflicts. This helps repair the division symbolized by the 13 breaches that the Greeks tried to create.
The message of Chanukah, celebrating our victory over the Greeks, calls us to focus on the importance of unity. On the last day of Chanukah, we read about the Menorah, where the candles symbolize Torah scholars and laypeople. Only by working together, like the Menorah made from one piece of gold, can we fulfill Hashem’s wishes (Sforno, Bamidbar 8:2).
This Chanukah, may we unite as a nation and only know peace. Im Yirtzah Hashem, we will all be returned to our homeland for this Chanukah with the coming of Mashiach!
