D'var Torah

Heshvan-Kislev 5766

Hanukkah in the Holy Land

Some of the most enduring memories I retain of Israel recall visits coinciding with the celebration of Hanukkah. Once, it was a crisp December night in Jerusalem. Rain had fallen a bit earlier in the evening and Jerusalem stone glistened not only from streetlights, but also from the flickering of huge oil lamps on two sides of the Kotel Plaza. Walking up from the Old City, one could make out glass-enclosed hanukkiyot outside homes and along the road, proclaiming the miracle of Hanukkah and the rebirth of a people in its own Land. Street after street announced the public celebration of Hanukkah. The aroma of fresh sufganiyot wafted in the soft breeze. How very different from those times and places where Jews cautiously removed their hanukkiyot from windows facing the street and moved them into the center of their homes, far from the watchful gaze of their neighbors!

And then there was the year Judi and I lit one Hanukkah candle in Dobbs while Eytan was lighting his in New York; the next night, we were joined by Eytan and close non-Jewish friends in Brussels who had never seen a hannukiah as we kindled another candle; on the third successive night Eytan, Judi and I joined Doron and dozens of young people on the NATIV year program in Jerusalem to light the next in the series of Hanukkah candles.

Hanukkah proclaims the miracle of continuity as generation after generation marks rededication and reconsecration. To celebrate Hanukkah in Israel removes the Jew from the delicious delights of the Yule season in New York, and transports him or her to a place where virtually everyone is sharing the same holiday with feasting and rejoicing without a sometimes awkward confrontation with the “December dilemma.” To be sure, there are some Christmas lights, and there even was the year we went to the movies at the Jerusalem Mall to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” with Hebrew subtitles, but the feeling is unparalleled and, quite honestly, spiritually uplifting.

As I announced on Rosh Hashanah, we are planning our next GHC Family Trip to Israel for December 20-30, 2006. Light the sixth candle of Hanukkah with us in Dobbs and then join us as we travel to Israel to light the seventh and eighth candles, as we explore together the historic paths followed by those who came before us. Visit Modin, home of the Maccabees, check out the place where the Temple once stood, dine with us at a ten-course meat meal in the Russian Quarter of Jerusalem, explore ancient sites and new wonders. In the month or so, we will have much more information to share with you. Let me know that you will be traveling with us. Judi and I look forward to sharing Israel with you. Give yourselves the gift of at least one Hanukkah in Israel. Fulfill your Passover promise: next year in Jerusalem!

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