Can Maccabees and Hellinists Get Along?

For Chanuka: Rav Kook on: Adopting the Positive Without the Negative of Greek/Western Culture Chanuka is a good opportunity to study Rav Kook's detailed advise regarding how exactly to adopt the good from the Western and modern world without the problematic and negative aspects. The class gleans many sources on this central topic of Rav Kook's various books and summarizes the Who, What, Where and How of this basic issue for religious-Zionist and Modern-Orthodox Jews.

Carefulness that Economic Prosperity Doesn't Harm our Human Advantage

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 10

Why is there no mitzva to feast on Chanuka?

Why Most Holidays are Seven Days But Chanuka is Eight

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 9

The miraculous Jewish history of past and present harmonizes with the prophecy of an even greater future.

Education is Ongoing- Yerushalayim is Complete

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 8

Rav Kook explains the similarity and difference between the similar words for education and Chanuka

Only Jewish Nationalism Brings Peace Not War

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 7 (p3)

Only zionism who's nationalism is based upon the Jewish Nation's universal role of bringing peace to all nations reveals the eternal G-dliness in nationalism.

Nationalism Usually (!) Contradicts Morality

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 7 (p2)

The maturing world will prefer universalism, rather than bigoted nationalism, and we will have to explain our supporting intermarriage for all but the Jews.

Chanuka and the Jewish Family

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 7 (p1)

Jewish Family Purity and Nationalism, and why the World To Come Isn't mentioned so much in the Tanach.

What Seems to Us as Second-Best is G-d's First-rate Plan

Ein Aya Shabat Chapter B Paragraph 5

The difference between the candles of Chanukah and those of Shabbat is like the difficult occurrences which we don't request yet are necessary, compared with the first-rate spirituality.