The Multiple Lights of Hanukkah

Headshot of Gail Labovitz
5783
by Rabbi Gail Labovitz, PhD
posted on December 16, 2022
This year my family will be spending most of Hanukkah in Israel in preparation for the wedding of my son (who made Aliyah in 2016) which takes place immediately after the holiday. I am looking forward to seeing candles in windows all around me and eating over-the-top sufganiyot (jelly and cream filled fried doughnuts) from Israeli bakeries. I’ve also been thinking about the different meanings and understandings of this holiday for Israel/Israelis, and for Jews in the Diaspora, especially in North America (and perhaps Europe). Read more...

We Didn't Land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock Landed on Us

Headshot of Rabbi Aryeh Cohen
by Rabbi Aryeh Cohen
posted on November 22, 2022
It is almost universally accepted today that the mythology of Thanksgiving has no relation to history. On the one hand, the story as it is performed, practiced, and retold in American grade schools and town squares has some notion that a band of New England “Indians” (who are universally never named) helped the Pilgrims through their first winter, and as a sign of gratitude and thanks, were invited to celebrate a Thanksgiving feast together after the harvest. Read more...