Hanukkah begins on Sunday night, December 18. This week, in advance of our celebration, here are some reflections on darkness and light. This Shabbat, we will mark Shabbat Mevorchim. Literally meaning the Shabbat Where We Bless, it refers to the Shabbat before a new month begins. In this case, we are preparing for the month of Tevet. And, while we are preparing to bless a new month and its hopes and potential, the Northern Hemisphere is preparing for the Winter Solstice—the longest night of the year. It is, of course, no coincidence that Hanukkah coincides with the Solstice. Legend has it that Rabbi Yakov Yosef, a student of the Ba'al Shem Tov, determined through complex calculations that the night of the Hanukkah victory and the re-lighting of the Hanukkiyah was, in fact, the night of the Winter Solstice—the longest night of the year. Whether that is apocryphal or true, it sets us [...]

Hanukkah begins on Sunday night, December 18. This week, in advance of our celebration, here are some reflections on darkness and light.Ten years ago today, 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.; 20 of those people were first graders.Between December 2012 and Jun 1, 2022, 91 children have been killed in 100 mass shootings on school premises; 72 adults were also killed, and 121 people wounded. This number, which should shame us, pales in comparison to the numbers of children killed by gun violence writ large. And, this number does not take into account the over 200,000 children exposed to gun violence at school. After each school shooting—and the fact that this phrase exists is also shameful—I come back to a phrase uttered by our Talmudic sages, who remind us that “the world only exists because of the breath of schoolchildren.” In a tradition which teaches that to [...]

Hanukkah begins on Sunday night, December 18. This week, in advance of our celebration, here are some reflections on darkness and light. Anyone who has seen me during a Hanukkah singalong knows that I love me some "Light One Candle." Not only were Peter, Paul, and Mary essential to the soundtrack of my childhood, but I just cannot get enough of that chorus. It’s a bop, for sure—and also speaks to a deeper lesson for this week, the week leading up to Hanukkah. "Don’t let the light go out," the song implores us—a reminder that, for generations, we have seen light in the darkness. Outside of Andrew Lloyd Weber's retelling of this week's parasha, it is a story with many dark elements, literally and figuratively. Joseph finds himself imprisoned not once, but twice; he begins his journey at the bottom of a pit, and spends some time in prison before [...]

Hanukkah begins on Sunday night, December 18. This week, in advance of our celebration, here are some reflections on darkness and light. As any number of children (including Peter Pan) have delighted to learn, the size—or at least appearance—of our shadow changes depending on our distance from it. As we try to escape our own shadow, its appearance grows only larger. As we come closer, the shadow gets smaller. Dr. Assael Romanelli, a psychotherapist and founder of The Potential State Institute For Enriching Relationships, uses this imagery to talk about our full selves. He writes: We want people to see our "authentic" self, while at the same time, we are presenting a positive veneer of a successful, composed, emotionally regulated person. And because of this positive veneer, when people celebrate or compliment us, we often do not fully believe them, because "they don't really know who I am … If they [...]