“Did you know that many of the most popular Christmas songs were written by Jews?” asks Rabbi Rena Rifkin. “Once the chanukiyot have become nothing but a pile of colorful wax, it’s hard to find light.” But “we can be a spark for someone else’s candle… on Christmas, let us help others to bring a glow to the world.”
In this week’s parashah, Pharoah has a peculiar dream about cannibal cows. Rabbi Samantha Natov urges us to consider our own responses to unsatiated needs. “Jealousy, anger, hatred, and rage make demands of us — but feeding these emotions will never satisfy…”
“God’s first act was the creation of light, but human corruption restricts our vision, diminishing the radiance of existence,” says Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. “Our task is to recapture that light. This is the message of Hanukkah: bringing light to a dark world; sustaining hope for humanity.”
Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz reflects on her week in Israel at the head of a delegation of nine early-career rabbis during the war with Hamas. Her time there included meeting with Israelis experiencing distress and uncertainty. But there was also hope…
“Celebrating Thanksgiving may seem a bit tone-deaf when so many are suffering,” says Rabbi Samantha Natov, but “as Jews, we are often asked to celebrate the goodness of our lot at the same time we remember the many in need that we are obligated to help. We carry those opposing realities at the same time…”
Rabbi Dalia Samansky reflects on how rallying for Israel in Washington helped to “heal our heartbreak, lessen our loneliness, and diffuse our desolation…” She says, “Standing on the national mall in a sea of white and blue, with Israeli flags proudly waving, and chants of ‘Am Yisrael chai,’ one couldn’t help but to feel hopeful for the future of the Jewish people.”