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. In addition to lighting Hanukkah candles, the rituals of this holiday can be enriched by innovative Hanukkah practices that celebrate women’s connections to the Hanukkah story, that focus on healing, and that offer an inspired role for gift giving.

 

Latest Rituals

“On Hanukkah, I light candles for them…”
a single candle flame burns in a menorah
” And when this holiday ends, another flame will rise and fall, and another, and another…”
Hanukkah candles lit in two hanukkiyot
This Hanukkah 2023 ritual acknowledges the incompleteness of joy while captives are being held.
a hanukkan menorah with all lights lit but the eighth candle
“In the light of the candles / I hope to see a shift from all hatred, / the homecoming of all hostages…”
a table of hanukkah candles
A series of eight mindfulness meditations for each day of Hanukkah
an oil light with hanukkah candles
A new Hanukkah blessing for 2023/5784.
a hanukkiah with lit candles
“I’m drilling / into darkness / to where the rabbis’ promise / flickers still.”
a glass Hanukkah menorah
This new poem honors the complex feeling of Hanukkah this year, 2023/5784.
a silver and blue dreidl
“even the faintest spark of light / can reach / and illuminate us.”
closeup photo of candle flames on a Hanukkiah

The Reconstructionist Network

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