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Chanuka: Understanding Why We Praise Hashem
“It is good to thank Hashem and to sing praise to Your name,” declares King David…
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Chanuka: What Are the Implications of a Rabbinic Holiday?
Chanuka is a post-Biblical and, therefore, Rabbinic festival…
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Beit Hillel and Our Ascent in Holiness
There is a well-known debate in the Gemarah between the schools of Shammai and Hillel when it comes to how we should light the Chanukah candles: “Beit Shammai says: On the first day one kindles eight lights and, from there on, gradually decreases. And Beit Hillel says: the first day one kindles one, and from…
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Comparing Chanuka and Shabbat Candles
There is a mitzvah to light candles every Friday afternoon to welcome in the holy Shabbat, and there is a separate commandment to light the Chanukah candles for the 8-day holiday period that celebrates the festival of Chanukah. How are these two mitzvot similar? How are they different? Let’s explore this topic a little further…
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Chana: Passive or Powerhouse?
Chana, like many females depicted in Jewish history, was a woman of mystery…
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Chanuka and the Spiritual War of the Maccabees
“…The real battle was not the military one. It was a cultural one”
