What's Hannuka?

The goal of this blog is to disrupt your Hannuka routine. Please print and share. 
 
Last week I asked a group in San Francisco the following question, which would be a great opener for your table:

Is science inherently good?

One woman said it certainly is! Look, for instance, at how many people have been helped by modern medicine.

You can probably guess my response.

Can't science be - hasn't science been - used for great evil?

So in my judgment, that means it isn't inherently good. It's neutral, like any tool, and can be used for good or evil.

Now you know what Channuka is.

We tend to get wrapped up in our media's trumpeting of certain values — science, technology, athletics, histrionics, and so on. We are brainwashed into feeling that these things are inherently good.

Channuka is our annual values reset, to remember that context is everything.

(If you doh't believe me, watch this: http://tinyurl.com/tedopticalillusions)

So how do you get the "right" context for your perceptions?

Today's the 3rd day of Channuka; tonight the fourth night. For the five remaining nights, here are five questions to stump your table.

Q1: Which parts of Hannuka are the actual mitzvah, and which parts are custom?
The only mitzvah is to light one light per person per night. All additional lights, songs, games, etc. are bonus-points. "The rest is commentary" as the saying goes.

Q2: Why one per person? What’s the connection between the light and a person?
It says in Proverbs 20:29 “The lamp of God is the soul of a person”. Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer of Vilnius (the Vilna Gaon) explains that the soul – neshama – has the same root letters as oil – shemen. Just like oil is contained in the wick and rises up, the soul is contained in the body and rises. The flame of the candle is like the light that a person brings into the world when learning Torah or doing a mitzvah. This model gives you the essence of Hannukah; the rest is commentary.

Q3: What’s the best way to “do” Hannuka?
If you want to use the holiday to change yourself, to become a different person, the main thing is to light the candle(s) and use them for meditation or conversation for a half-hour or so. For that precious time, focus on presence not presents. Stop running around, cooking etc for that half-hour and find a way to get yourself and anyone with you involved in the moment and to think about how your Torah and mizvot (a little more or a little better) makes you a brighter light in the darkness of these times. Everything else about Channuka is commentary.

Q4: What language must a Torah scroll be written in? And what's the Channuka connection?
Everyone thinks that the answer is Hebrew. According to the Talmud, a Torah scroll would be kosher if written in Hebrew or Greek – i.e., Greek letters spelling Hebrew words. In other words, we believe that the aesthetics of Hellenism can be made holy. Think about it: Greeks exposed unwanted babies, Jews upheld the sanctity of life.
Be cautious when embracing the arts and sciences — gotta lead with your ethical conscience. Make "pursuing good" your essence and "pursuing beauty" your commentary.
 
Q5: How are you supposed to spell (C)han(n)uk(k)a(h) anyway?
Your guess is as good as mine.

The rest – the latkes, doughnuts, dreidel and all that – is, as we say, commentary...."Now go and study...."


Hannuka Sameach


Oy! You forgot a gift for someone? No problem: give them a subscription to the Amazing Nature for Teachers program - AmazingNature4Teachers.com. Great for a teacher, great for a parent, great for anyone who enjoys a daily dose of inspiration.
 
PS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bykPvsPymI

Like this blog? How about putting your gelt where your gab is: Like it, tweet it, or just forward it.

The Art of Channuka

The goal of this blog is to make you into your local Hannuka Hero. Please read carefully and click, click, click (or tap, tap, tap).
Happy Birthday Calla - May you live in continued inspiration til 120!

This week's blog contains my Channuka gift to you.

It comes wrapped between two questions for your table.

The first question is about gift-giving itself.

What do gifts have to do with Channuka?

I mean did you ever just stop and think: "What's the connection?" - ??

I used to think there was no connection, that Channuka gifts come from Xmas-envy.

I was wrong.

But rather than spill the beans, let's make this the first question for your table:

Why do so many people like to give gifts specifically during Channuka?

Now, as you surely know from our cool Channuka Countdown Timer, you're running out one of the few things in life that is truly irreplaceable: time.

I can't give you time.

But I can save you time.

Need a beautiful menorah? Click here.
How about candles? Try these.
How about pre-filled oil candles? These are great.
Dreidels? Look no further.
Chocolate coins? Thought of that too.
Kids books and activities? Got 'em.

(Please remember that using our links is an easy way to support JSL's mission as Amazon contributes about 5% of the purchase.)

Now that pretty much takes care of the physical side of Channuka.

How about the spiritual?

Where are you going to find a good transliteration of the Menorah bracha/blessing and Ma-oz Tsur song?

How about the song "I Have a Little Dreidel" in English and Yiddish with guitar chords?

How about a Podcast of my class, "Channuka and the Secret of the 36"?

Help JSL with an end-of-the-year tax-deductible donation and receive all of these as our thank-you gift.

Let's now wrap up this email with the second question for your table:

What's the ideal Channuka gift?


Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hannuka

PS - Still looking for a meaningful and useful gift for a teacher in your life? How about a parent who is struggling to inspire her children? Send them a subscription to the Amazing Nature for Teachers program @ AmazingNature4Teachers.com.

PPS - A fancy Chicago chocolatier is now producing hand-crafted gelt for grownups.

PPPS - In case you were wondering, the Menorah Glasses really do exist. As does the dreidel headbopper.

PPPPS -



Like this blog? How about putting your mouse where your mouth is: Like it, tweet it, or just forward it to someone who might enjoy it.

Thanks for Saying Thanks!

The purpose of this blog is to help you turn Friday night chat into conversation. Please print & share.

If you have not seen the Guitar Dreidel, the Texas Dreidel, the 101 Things to Do for Channuka, or the stylish Rambam Menorah, your Channuka is certainly not going to be complete!

You might also like to know that Apple now allows you to gift an app — such as the Amazing Jewish Fact-a-Day Calendar. It's an easy system, you pay the 99¢ and Apple either sends the recipient an email for you or gives you a digital card that you can either print or email yourself. For all the iphone/ipad/ipod users in your network of family and friends, wouldn't some of them enjoy an app that puts a nugget of amazing Jewish wisdom on their screen every day? Can you think of a better last-minute Channuka gift? 


Tonight's questions for your Shabbat table are inspired by leadership teacher Peter Bregman.

Bregman thinks that every personal email deserves a reply.

His full argument will take you about a minute or two to read, here on the Harvard Business Review.

Bregman challenges us:

Consider what saying "thank you" represents.

On a basic level, it communicates that you received the email. While there's a lot of advice that discourages writing "thank you" emails because they contribute to email overload, I disagree. I answer every real email I receive because I want to avoid the recipient's "Did Peter get my email and what's he thinking?" angst. It takes three seconds to respond "thanks" and it completes the transaction initiated by the sender.

Ultimately, saying thanks for even a brief helpful email is a moral duty: "Acknowledging each other is our basic responsibility as human beings living in community with other human beings."

Question #1 for your table: Do you agree?

(perhaps I'll know when I see what kind of replies, if any, I receive to this email ;-)

Question #2: If every act of kindness needs a thank you, and saying thank you is an act of kindness, where does it end?

Question #3: Where off-line might this be a point well taken?


Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hannuka.

(Yes, that's right, I spelt it with a simple "H" even though when I pronounce it that way it drives my kids batty.)

PS - we've added two short Hannuka videos that will make you smile (I hope), on both home pages:

http://jsli.org
http://bestjewishkidsbooks.com

(if you need help downloading these videos, send me an email and I'll teach you the trick)

2011 Hannuka Miracle?

This week, a modern-day Channukah story.

It is a true story. It happened just last week.

It is also a bit long, so I will cut out some of the details.

The story begins with a real tragedy.

A 54-year-old doctor from New York named Brian Grobois is in Seattle for a Bar Mitzvah. He plans to stay in Washington an extra day to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes, walking in nature.

Sunday morning he sets out on a snow-shoe trek in Paradise.

Paradise is the name of a popular hiking area at Mt. Rainier. You can imagine what it must look like for people to give it that name. Here are some photos.


The husband, father and popular doctor does not return from Paradise. Rangers find his body late Monday and recover it on Tuesday. He apparently got lost and was unprepared for an overnight stay.

But that’s just the beginning of this tale.

When Dr. Grobois’s widow arrives to identify the body, she learns that the Pierce County Medical Examiner plans to conduct a full autopsy and there is nothing she could do to prevent it.

From a Jewish perspective, there are two problems with an autopsy. One is that it delays burial. But worse than that, a full autopsy is incredibly invasive. It involves procedures that I will not describe here. Suffice it to say, you would not want one performed on anyone short of a sworn enemy. Moreover, if you are a religious family like the Groboises, it violates your religious beliefs.

(Channuka theme #1 – Remember what the Maccabees were fighting for? Judaism v. Hellenism, right? One of the symbols of that Hellenism was the gymnasium, the focus on the body. It is ironic that Judaism has so much respect for the body that it’s against the rules to desecrate a corpse. Hellenism isn’t antithetical to Judaism. The fight wasn’t against Hellenism. It was against the hegemony of Hellenism. Hellenism under the umbrella of Jewish ethics is no enemy.)

Well, at this point, two sets of players get activated, one national and one local. The national players include a network of rabbis and lawyers across the country, New York Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Senator Charles Schumer; Washington Senators Pat Murray and Maria Cantwell, Governor Christine Gregoire and Attorney General Rob McKenna.

The local players, besides the family and witnesses, include two individuals, Rabbi Zalman Heber and Tacoma attorney Barry Wallis.

Wallis has never had a case like this before. In fact, Washington State has never had a case like this before. There is no legal precedent on the books.

Wallis, who happens to be Jewish, went into law because he saw it as the best way to “fight the good fight”. Now he has a truly good fight on his hands. Whether or not he shares the family’s religious beliefs is never discussed. He has so much respect for Judaism and the Jewish People that he is at the top of Rabbi Heber’s list.

In order to keep this from becoming a novella I promised not to tell you all the details. But Wallis personally has to put everything else on hold, all his other clients, cases and court appearances, in order to fight this battle. It involves a zero-hour court order to stop the autopsy, and just one day to prepare this unprecedented case.

The good news is that the plaintiff wins.

The bad news is that the State appeals.

The good news is that the judge who is hearing the appeal is the Hon. Brian Tollefson, who happens to be the brother of my Jr. High French teacher. The Talmud says that if you really want to know what a woman is like, meet her brother. I figure it works the other way around too. Miss Tollefson was professional, fair, and very smart. I’m sure that he is too.

Indeed, plaintiff wins again. And many of the abovementioned political figures intervene to prevent a further appeal.

The burial took place in Jerusalem, according to the wishes of Brian Grobois. May he rest in peace.

When it’s all over, an exhausted Barry Wallis trudges home late at night. He stumbles into the kitchen, looking for olive oil to light his menorah. But there isn’t enough oil, only a few drops left in one small bottle....

You complete the story.


Epilogue:


Several days after the events of this story, one of the rabbis involved received a phone call from the Park Ranger who testified on the family’s behalf. He was in tears and very emotional.

“You might not believe what I'm going to tell you now, but I still have to share it with you. Last Tuesday night after I recovered the body of Dr. Grobois I had a dream. I dreamed that I was in Israel, attending a Jewish funeral, and I'm telling you, I was never in Israel, and never at a Jewish funeral, but here's what I saw, men were on one side, women on the other. And in the center was a body on a bench.  They were eulogizing the person, and suddenly I heard them starting to thank people. And guess what? I heard them thanking me!”

“It’s weird, you know?  When I helped bring the body up from the mountain, I was just doing my job.  And I had nothing to do with his Jewish burial. But when you reached out to me on Thursday to come and testify in court, it clicked. I felt that it was a clear and direct sensational message sent from heaven, and that's why I felt I needed to act.”

As it turns out, the ranger’s wife is Jewish, and so are his children. He has already reached out to Rabbi Heber about teaching the children about their Jewish heritage.

Question for your table: Why did plaintiff win? Hard work, good luck, or a miracle?

Happy Channuka and Shabbat Shalom

PS - If you're read this far, chances are you enjoyed this message. Well, it's that time of year again. Last chance to make tax-deductible contributions for 2011. How many appeals have you received this year? But  you read this far; chances are you enjoyed this post and perhaps previous ones this year. Please support the organization that makes this and many ambitious educational programs possible. Here's the link: http://jsli.org/donate/ No contribution is too small or too large.

PPS - Need a last-minute, simple, affordable, meaningful Channuka present for someone?
Try the most amazing Jewish app ever. Click here for the current amazing fact.

http://tinyurl.com/amazingcalendarlink (iphone/ipad version)
http://tinyurl.com/amazingandroidcalendar (android version)



++++++ Sunday’s Amazing Jewish Fact ++++++

29 Kislev 5772
25 December 2011

Of the 25 most performed holiday songs in America, 10 were written or co-written by Jews, including:

"O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam)
"Silver Bells" (Livingston and Evans)
"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (Mel Torm)
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
"Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Johnny Marks)
Two Christmas albums by Barry Manilow

And, of course, "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin), the best-selling song in history.

US News and World Report, Dec. 2, 2002

Two great links:

Chinese Food on Xmas music video
 

Longer article on this topic
 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://tinyurl.com/amazingcalendarlink (iphone/ipad version)
http://tinyurl.com/amazingandroidcalendar (android version)

Hannuka for the Rest of Us

Guess what? I just made my 4th foray into the youtube world. Please check it out here (and leave a rating!).

In case you are not able to view the vid, here’s a rough transcript:

Take a look at this picture:
Is this what Hannuka has become?

How do you have a Hannuka that is more in tune with the ancient, pre-Xmas wisdom of the holiday?

The secret is on the last night, the eighth night.

This year, on Sunday night, get yourself a menorah and those eight candles lit.

While they are burning in the darkness of the night, take a few minutes to meditate on the candles.

What the 8 candles represent is that totally spiritual person that is inside of you trying to get out.

On Sunday night, meditate on those candles and find that person inside of you who wants to have a totally meaningful life. That person inside of you who wants to change the world.

Then you can enter 2009 inspired with the simplicity and joy of a child, and the wisdom of the ancients.

Have a Happy Hannuka!

and Shabbat Shalom.


PS – here is an inspiring article on Hannuka in a concentration camp.
- here are some jazzy new Hannuka songs.
- feeling the winter blues? Here’s Tom Lehrer to bring you some Hannuka sunshine:


Tis the season.... If you enjoy this weekly message, please support it. For as little 25¢ a week, you can become a partner in our educational mission. Make your tax-deductible contribution to the address below or go online to the website below and click on the “donate” button.