First Night • Sparks of Light 5785
Rabbi Seth Grauer Rosh Yeshiva & Head of School Among the most famous questions posed for Chanukah each year is the question about the length of the holiday. Why do we celebrate this holiday for eight days when, in reality, the miracle was only seven days? One day’s oil lasted for eight, but there was […]
Eighth Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Ms. Miriam Bessin Dean of Students I heard the following idea from Rav Johnny Solomon, who notes that we take pride in the mitzvot we perform so we often raise mitzvah objects for others to see. For example: we raise the lulav and etrog when waving them on Sukkot and we lift the Sefer Torah […]
Seventh Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Zot Chanukah – This Is Chanukah Mrs. Rina Deutsch Judaic Studies As we all know, there is a debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel over how we are meant to light our Chanukiot. Beit Shammai says we begin with all eight lights aglow and we take one away each night until the last night […]
Sixth Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Our Inner Cruse of Oil Rabbi Jared Anstandig Judaic Studies We’ve all learned the story of Chanukah from a young age: The Greeks entered the Beit HaMikdash and contaminated all the oil. After a stunning military victory, the Kohanim returned and found only one small cruse of oil that remained pure. From that container, they […]
Fifth Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Mrs. Shyndee Kestenbaum Judaic Studies, Arts and Technology A beautiful component of our Jewish חגים is that they are not just a commemoration of past events, but have a relevant lesson for us in present day. The Sifsei Chaim says that every year, the same miracles, salvation, and blessings that happened in the past get […]
Fourth Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Mrs. Shira Lipner Director of Judaic Studies at Ulpanat Orot The menorah is the ultimate symbol of Chanukah. It’s pretty, reminds us of the miracle of the oil in the Beit Hamikdash and lights up our homes as the darkness of winter descends. But in an unusual choice of words, the Rambam (Hilchot Chanukah 4:12) […]
Third Night • Sparks of Light 5784
“Dedication to Education” Rabbi Eddie Shostak Menahel of Yeshivat Or Chaim Rabbi Sacks shares a story about his father, an immigrant to Britain, who had to leave school at a young age to help support his family. Walking home with his father from synagogue as a child, Rabbi Sacks would question his father about Judaism. […]
Second Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Mr. Jonathan Parker Assistant Principal and Director of Education In the Middle Ages, and again more recently, the apocryphal heroine Judith was widely associated with Chanukah. It is from her story of duping and then triumphing over the Syrian-Greek general Holofernes with cheese and wine that we have the popular tradition of eating dairy on […]
First Night • Sparks of Light 5784
Rabbi Seth Grauer Rosh Yeshiva & Head of School On the morning of October 7, Ben Shimoni managed to escape from the Supernova music festival in Re’im, saving the lives of four women. Miraculously, he dodged the bullet barrage, and managed to drive to safety in Beersheva. But the story is not over. Shimoni said […]
Eighth Night • Sparks of Light 5783
What Can We Learn from the Chanukah Candles? Ruth Paling (Grade 9) The candle represents the mitzvot while the Torah represents the light – “נר מצוה ותורה אור, a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light” (Proverbs 6:23). When giving to charity or inviting guests into your home, light spreads throughout the world with […]
