Eighth Night • Sparks of Light 5781
Why Not French Fries? Malka Moshkovits (Grade 10) and Ms. Racheli Peretz (Young Shlicha) On Chanukah, we have many customs and mitzvot, some weirder than others. Some of them make sense on a basic level, but when you think about it, they don’t make 100% sense. One of these is the custom of eating sufganiyot. […]
Seventh Night • Sparks of Light 5781
Miracles Aviva Eizicovics and Chani Shull (Grade 9) After hearing Rabbi Grauer speak about the miracles of different holidays at the JEP (Jewish Enrichment Program) meeting a couple weeks ago, we acknowledged that there are two different kinds of miracles. They are equally important even though at times they are not so clear. The first […]
Sixth Night • Sparks of Light 5781
Significance of the Menorah Tikki Reichman (Grade 11) Many people might wonder what the connection is between the lighting of the Chanukah candles and the lighting of the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash. What’s the significance of a Menorah in the first place? I’d like to share one perspective based on the Ramban’s commentary on […]
Fifth Night • Sparks of Light 5781
Our Flask of Potential Chavi Zieleniec (Grade 11) As the Chanukah story unfolds, after a victorious battle against the יוונים, the מכבים return to find the smallest portion of oil left in the בית המקדש. The amount of oil was insufficient for one full night, even more so for all eight nights! However, the oil […]
Fourth Night • Sparks of Light 5781
The Deeper Meaning Behind Maoz Tzur Lizzy Dalfen (Grade 9), Rachel Goldstein (Grade 10) and Emma Muscat (Grade 11) Every night of Chanukah, we gather together to recite brachot, light the candles and then sing songs related to our history. One of the songs we sing is Maoz Tzur. Maoz Tzur is a very unique song, as […]
Third Night • Sparks of Light 5781
Chanukah and Purim Daniela Black and Nava Edery (Grade 10) Purim was the last holiday celebrated by Jews before the world went into total lockdown because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. How does this connect to the holiday we are celebrating now? Chanukah and Purim relate in many ways, yet there is one big difference […]
Second Night • Sparks of Light 5781
Looking at the Bright Side Sasha Aaron and Tali Wercberger (Grade 10) Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l commented that very often we speak about the two miracles of Chanukah; the miracle of the oil and the miracle of the war. In fact, there is a third thing worth celebrating that does not get a lot of […]
First Night • Sparks of Light 5781
The Timeless Message of “Mi LaHashem Eili” Annie Rosenblum, Kayla Saiet and Leora Tenenbaum (Grade 11) We all know the famous line declared by Moshe Rabeinu and Matisyahu HaCohen “Mi LaHashem Eili!” If you take a look at the context of these declarations there’s an obvious question that comes to mind. Picture the scene – Moshe […]
Hidden Miracles: Introducing Sparks of Light 5781
Dear Parents, It is that time of year again when we once again send out our Sparks of Light series. Each night each of our campuses will be receiving short divrei torah and inspirational messages from faculty and students. These messages are meant to be read immediately following your lighting of the candles as you sit and […]
The Mystery of קנאה Decoded
Written by: Dovid Kark, Grade 10 student, YOC In Sefer Bamidbar, the notion of jealousy, קנאה, appears more times than in any other place in the Torah. It appears with reference to the stories of Korach and Pinchas, as well as the laws of the Sotah, among other examples. However, the typical definition of קנאה […]
