Chanukah

Question of the Week: My life has come to a standstill. I'm bored at work, and my relationship is going nowhere. I think I need a change of scenery. Should I move away, or do you think a career change will be enough? Answer: There's only one problem with changing scenery. Wherever you go, you'll ...

Sifrei chassidus, including B'nei Yisos'char, elaborate on the fact that the light of the Chanukah menorah contains ohr haganuz ;and is miraculous. For this reason, "ein lanu reshus l'hishtamesh bohen, ella lir'osom bilvad." We have no permission ;to behave as though it's ours by using it in any ...

Here is some powerful Chizuk from GYE member "Battleworn" in honor of Chanukah: The Me'or Einayim and many other tzadikim explain... The Gemarah says, that we must light Ner Chanuka:1) at night ; ;2) lower than 10 tefachim ;3) outside ; ;4) on the left side ; ;5) starting at the end of the month ...

Dear Yidden, Chanukah is all about ;Messiras Nefesh, which means fighting the evil against all odds. How did the Jewish people survive for so many thousands of years surrounded by so many enemies? It is those few Yidden who are ready to "die" for Hashem that make all the difference. When Hashem s...

Yosef HaTzadik is teaching us an approach in life – be a minimalist!  Many try for perfection.  We feel that anything short of perfection is not worth it.  Yosef is saying “Not true.  Accomplish whatever you can accomplish, even if it does not solve the problem, even if it is not a foolproof plan.”  Doing something is better than doing nothing!

The Midrash offers a parable in explaining the use of olive oil for the Menorah in the Temple: it is comparable to a king whose legions rebelled against him. However, one of his legions remained faithful and did not rebel. The king said, "From this legion that did not rebel, I will take for my ru...

The Greeks wanted to get rid of the Jews. They did not hate us, they just wanted to steal our spirituality, which would lead us to leave Hashem. ; It's an untold part of the Chanuka story that at the time when the Greeks began to attack Judaism, the Beis ;Hamikadash was being neglected. Jews took...

"הנרות הללו קודש הם ואין לנו רשות להשתמש ;בהם" ; ; "Chanukah candles are holy and we have no permission to use them, rather only to see them." - And for how long? Half an hour from the start. After the half-hour, they are allowed to be used. ;In marriage, when a person returns home after...

A great Rabbi, Hillel, taught that on the first night of Chanukah we light one candle and each successive night we add an additional candle until on the eighth night there are eight candles. ; Why did Hillel prescribe this method for commemorating the eight days of Chanukah? Wouldn't it have been...

PARSHAS MIKETZ SHABBOS CHANUKKA ;This week's Parsha has a terrific lesson that we can apply to our struggle and to our lives. ;Here Goes: ;We find that when Yosef Hatzaddik speaks to Pharo ;He speaks with tremendous humility ;Pharo tells him "I hear you can decipher dreams" ;Yosef says "b'laadie"...