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Hanukkah

"We’ve come to chase away the darkness, carrying light and fire in our hands…" goes the modern Israeli song. Hanukkah is a time to celebrate the tiny miracle of oil and light, and the spirit of the Jewish people fighting to preserve our identity throughout the course of history.

Got Gelt? A Conversation about Giving in this Season of Receiving [Video]

Tips on how to ritualize giving tzedakah during your Hanukkah celebration, including a kavannah to recite when giving tzedakah [more]

Found In: Gift Giving

Tags: tzedakah

How to Light the Hanukkah Candles [Video]

In this video, learn the blessings for lighting the Hanukkah menorah [more]

Found In: Hanukkah Candle Lighting

Tags: shehekheyanu , Siddur Kol Haneshamah

First Light: An Energy-Aware Chanukah Celebration

On the path from the winter soltice to the vernal equinox and Birkat HaChammah, Blessing of the Sun, with instructions for kindling olive oil in a bowl [more]

Found In: Hanukkah Candle Lighting, Preserving Creation

Tags: Birkat HaChammah: Blessing of the Sun

Thoughts on Kindling the Chanukah Lights

A kavanah on the symbolism of the candle as the soul [more]

Found In: Hanukkah Candle Lighting

Tags: Rabbi Dan Ehrenkrantz

Hanukkah Meditations

Meditations on Hanukkah, focusing in particular on moving from the month of Cheshvan, to Kislev, and on to Tevet. [more]

Found In: Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan:Oct.-Nov., Rosh Chodesh Kislev: Nov.-Dec., Rosh Chodesh Tevet: Dec.-Jan., Hanukkah

Tags: meditation

Essence of Kislev

A summary of facts, characters, and holidays pertaining to the month of Kislev [more]

Found In: Rosh Chodesh Kislev: Nov.-Dec., Hanukkah

New Blessings for Chanukah

New Blessings over the Chanukah candles using masculine and feminine God-language [more]

Found In: Hanukkah Candle Lighting

One for Each Night: A Chanukah Study Guide for a Brighter Future

A ritual for installing a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) each night of Chanukah [more]

Found In: Hanukkah Candle Lighting, Preserving Creation

Tags: eco-friendly

Chanukah Gifts

A short article with suggestions about how to handle the materialism which often overwhelms us during the winter holiday season [more]

Found In: Gift Giving

Tags: Rabbi Rona Shapiro, tzedakah

Chag HaBanot: The Festival of the Daughters

A new ritual based on an older North-African custom celebrating women's roles in the Chanukah story on Rosh Chodesh Tevet [more]

Found In: Hanukkah Candle Lighting, Rosh Chodesh Tevet: Dec.-Jan.

Tags: Rabbi Jill Hammer