Entries by Rachel Barenblat

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From the Rabbi – December 2023

The big mitzvah associated with Chanukah is pirsumei nisa, “publicizing the miracle.” Tradition teaches us to place the Chanukah lights someplace where they will be seen. (Unless we fear for our lives, in which case tradition permits us to keep our light under the proverbial bushel.) We display our lights to publicize the miracle: the oil that lasted until new oil could be made; the leap of faith that led us to kindle light in the first place; the miracle of hope in times of despair.

Especially this year, holding fast to hope and to Jewish joy feels like a radical act… and a necessary one.

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In response to what’s unfolding in Israel

I know that many of us are feeling helpless. My friend and colleague Rabbi Jay Michaelson notes that “The hopelessness feeds [the extremists’] narrative that there can be no peace.” I invite us therefore to resist hopelessness as best we can. There are things we can do to make things better. They may feel small, but they are real.

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Israel

How can we rejoice with the Torah at a moment like this? And yet our tradition calls us to do precisely that.

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