Rabbi Jill’s Latest Blog Posts
Being Grateful this Hanukkah – Night 7
Hanukkah is a Festival of Lights at the darkest time of the year. We are grateful for illumination that abundantly lights our way even at the darkest of times. You may be challenged to find gratitude when the world is burning. Our greatest spiritual teachers encourage us to find gratitude in even the smallest things. …
Dedicate Yourself This Hanukkah – Day 6
The word “Hanukkah” – חֲנֻכָּה – means “dedication“. The Festival of Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil that burned for eight nights. Hanukkah commemorates the purification and re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees’ defeat of the Greeks. Tonight, we are looking towards what we can each dedicate ourselves to in improving …
Discover Hope In Dark Times/ Hanukkah Night 5
We are living in dark days, and it is sometimes difficult to find hope. We are beset by images of the war in Israel and Gaza. Our climate is burning and species are dying. The generations struggle to understand each other’s points of view. We live with so many unswered questions. When will the war …
Miracles All Around You: Hanukkah. Night 4
Tonight We Light Four Candles. Hanukkah is a celebration of miracles. There are several: the first is that during a time when the ancient temple was desecrated, a small quantity of oil that was only enough to last one night, actually burned for eight nights. Another is the miracle that a small band of Jews …
Memories That Sustain Us: Hanukkah, Night Three
In a moving piece from Hannah Arendt, she notices that dark times are not rare, but that we have a “right to expect some illumination.” Arendt writes that this illumination comes from human beings who kindle a light with the way they live their lives. When we remember those people who illuminated our lives, it …
Increase the Light: Hanukkah – Day 2
Lighting the Hanukkiah (Menorah) each night for eight nights is the central ritual of Hanukkah. We add a new candle each night, thereby increasing the light. The lighting of the candles on the Hanukkiah is symbolic of a miracle: A long time ago, when there was only enough oil to last one night, but it …
Bringing Light To Darkness: Hanukkah, Night One
Our theme this year for Hanukkah is “Bringing Light to Darkness.” The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah occurs in the darkest time of the year on the 25th night of the Hebrew month of Kislev. In 2023, the first night of Hanukkah is Thursday, December 7. Unlike other Jewish holidays, Hanukkah begins when the moon has …
Music As Comfort In This Painful Time: Playlists
In the initial shock of the aftermath of the October 7 massacres in Israel, and every day since people say to me: “I have no words.” Whether they are speaking about the hostages, the slaughters, or the photos of young soldiers dying in Israel, or the children and innocents in Gaza who sit among the …
