Hanukkah is a winter holiday. It shines light in the darkest time of year. Each night we add another light, increasing until the entire Hanukkah menorah is illuminated.
The lights have been kindled in millions of homes over thousands of years. It was not always easy: Already in the Talmud there are provisions for lighting secretly in times of persecution. But the Jewish commitment to publicizing the miracle of rededication endured.
The late Rabbi Hugo Gryn was a child in Auschwitz. The holiday of Hanukkah came, and after fashioning a makeshift menorah, his father melted the precious margarine ration to light a wick for the first night. The young Hugo, outraged, protested to his father. How could he use the food which sustained them in the midst of such horror, just to observe the holiday?
Many years later Rabbi Gryn said that at that moment his father spoke words he never forgot. His father said: “My child, we know you can live three days without water. You can live three weeks without food. But you cannot live for three minutes without hope.”
In kindling our hannukiyot in the windows of our homes we shine a light of hope out into the world; a reflection of our commitment to making the world a better place for all.
Chag Hannukah Sameyach –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
Click here for a quick refresher on lighting Hanukah candles and the blessings.
Musical Moment – Hannukah 5786
Hanukkah oh Hanukkah – a Pentatonix Daft Punk cover – Hanukkah 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH83oNwhDVM&list=RDkH83oNwhDVM&start_radio=1
Golden: A KPop Demon Hunters Chanukah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p19MhNB3vg&list=RD1p19MhNB3vg&start_radio=1
HanuKpop Demon Hunters | The Maccabeats | Kpop Demon Hunters Hanukkah Medley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPnt1xqBv5c&list=RDaPnt1xqBv5c&start_radio=1
A Very Jonas Hanukkah — Y-Studs x Jonas Brothers [Official Video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFRCnBrIliE&list=RDUFRCnBrIliE&start_radio=1
Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions (Intro)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8AAPoZVpmg
Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions: Night One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pqGdwZ3zPo&list=RD_pqGdwZ3zPo&start_radio=1
The Beastie Boys, Blitzkreig Bop, Barry Manilow, Peaches, Amy Winehouse, Billy Joel, The Clash, Kiss
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