Chanukah

Unlike Greek thought, Judaism teaches that all of man's actions possess value and make an impression upon the heavens and earth - momentarily and eternally. The morality of man is not mere courtesy; our commandments are not some external performance.

What reason is there, in our day, to rejoice over the return of Jewish self-rule in the Second Temple era? After all, we see that, at any rate, the Temple was eventually destroyed, and the Jewish people were exiled from their land.

The purpose of "darkness" is to present man with a challenge - the challenge of strengthening his faith and uncovering God's presence. Because Joseph faced the trials of faith and stood up to them all, he merited the light of redemption.

The link between the feast of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt and the customary festive meal of Chanukah becomes clear. They together represent the attribute of trust in the Almighty.

We cannot be satisfied with strengthening only one portion of the people, no matter how important its task be. We must designate persons for each of our national goals, whether the strengthening of the Torah or the building of the nation.

There are two possible attitudes towards the Greek culture. We also make an endeavor to explain our relationship with the Greek Empire in our Sages' writings.

1. Darkness Before the Miracles 2. How Many, And How Few 3. Spiritual Muscles 4. Think Before You Leap 5. The Chanukah Revolution

In a bustling world of progress and development, in a day and age when the electric light bulb is taken for granted, we continue to light the Hanukah candles - just as we did some two thousand years ago.

With the decrees of Antiochus it became clear that there is no room for Jewish existence without Jewish rule.