Chanukah is a time of revolution. At the first Chanukah, the Maccabees led a revolution to preserve Judaism against the Hellenists. Then, hundreds of years later, on Shabbat Chanukah of 1915, a poor Hasidic woman started a new revolution to preserve Judaism. This revolution would spark one of the greatest innovations in Jewish life. Her story […]
Would you set out on an important road trip if you only had enough gas for the first 20 miles and no forseeable way of filling your car up for a week? If you were a Maccabee you would. I recently started wondering why the Jews decided to light the menorah with the paltry sum of oil they found. Why bother lighting an eternal light that you […]
What’s it like to be Jewish and work at Google? While the holidays are often celebrated by the “Jewglers,” as they are known, Chanukah is particularly special. Google itself has shared photos from its offices in New York, Tel Aviv, Mountain View and Dublin, showing employees celebrating the holiday. Menorahs are displayed, made of cool […]
Dear JITC- We hear a lot of pop culture references to “I Love You Just the Way You Are,” “Born This Way,” etc. The Greeks also thought we were perfect as we are. So why would God create man needing a bris? What is Judaism trying to tell us about why we need circumcision? Shouldn’t […]
Dear Rebbetzin Chaya- A friend asked me to do a job for her, which I did before we agreed on an exact price. It was not an easy job, but she was desperate and I was glad to be able to help. Then suddenly she told me that she didn’t have money to pay me […]
When Chanukah came on Tuesday night, I was drained like I haven’t been drained in quite some time. My baby had begun teething the night before and had woken up half a dozen times. My older son (who’s been screaming out randomly at night) also woke up several times. Despite barely sleeping, I had to […]
