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Holy Days -
Chanukah
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Written by d fine
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One of the reasons the Greeks targeted the Mikdash to defile was because the Mikdash ran contrary to their philosophy and outlook on life. The Greeks believed in aesthetics and beauty, which meant that only that which is appealing to the eye is beautiful and praiseworthy. Thus, the Mikdash, with all its accompanying laws of tumah which the eye cannot see, was a threat to their very beliefs - hence their need to divide, conquer, and defile it. Us Jews know that beauty does not begin or end with the eye. The greatest beauty is the beauty of soul; a spiritual beauty that is covered up and hidden, yet it is beautiful nonetheless. Real beauty is spiritual beauty.
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Holy Days -
Chanukah
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Written by d fine
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Rashi seems to hold that the main miracle of Chanukah was the miracle of the oil; the miracle of victory in battle is not the main thing we are celebrating on Chanukah, according to Rashi. The question is why is this so - after all, the battle was a huge, world-changing and lifesaving miracle which essentially ensured our survival. Whilst the oil miracle, on the other hand, was seemingly unnecessary - we could have survived without pure oil; the worst that would have happened was that we’d have had to wait another week or so for pure oil to be produced. Why is the miracle of the oil something to celebrate at all, and why does it take centre stage? Rav Chaim Shmulevitz explains that it is precisely the unnecessary nature of the oil miracle that sees it thrust into the foreground. The very fact that HaShem went out of His way, so to speak, to provide us with pure oil showed us that He loves us and cares for us. For a father who really loves his son makes sure to tend to every little detail - even seemingly the smallest and most unnecessary - of his son’s needs and wants. Thus, the miracle of the oil showed us a fuller extent of HaShem’s love for us.
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Holy Days -
Chanukah
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Written by Daniel Sandground
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Quick Few Words on Chanukah…
A time of candle lighting, doughnuts, latkas and celebration but what is really going on behind the scenes in our celebration of Chanukah and what should we actually be focusing on?
Chanukah is a celebrating of two miracles; the more highlighted of these is that of the miracle with the oil which kept burning for 8 days in the Beis Hamikdash (temple) even though the
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Holy Days -
Chanukah
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Written by Yaakov Hibbert
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Why is it that by the Mitzvah of lighting the lights on Chanukah there is a special emphasis on פרסומי ניסא – publicising the Miracle? We don’t find that we have to eat the קרבן פסח on the street. We don’t have to put the story of יציאת מצרים on the billboards of city. Leining מגילת אסתר doesn’t have to be done in the town square. These miracles were of no less importance than that of חנוכה?
The Chasam Sofer explains that there is a major difference between the נס of חנוכה and that of יציאת מצרים for example. Unlike all other miracles the miracle that occurred with the jug of pure oil that burnt for eight days was a miracle seen by very few. Only the Cohanim who were in the בית המקדש saw the miraculous burning of oil. In actual fact it is specifically a miracle of this nature
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Holy Days -
Chanukah
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Written by Rafi Jager
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On Chanukah we will celebrate our liberation from Greek sovereignty. One of the many lessons we learn from Chanukah is the Jewish outlook towards culture and "beauty". Greece is a direct descendant of Yafet, the oldest son of Noah, and is known for its remarkable beauty. In fact, the name "Yafet" in Hebrew means "beauty". They are famous for their art, theatres, culture, and the glorification of the fair form of the human body. And why not focus on these things, since they are all talents and features with which Hashem blessed Man and which therefore must be appreciated.
However, the beauty of "beauty" can only be properly appreciated if it is connected to its source. In the words of the Kotzker Rebbe, one of the greatest
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