Ceremony and Celebration Family Edition, The Hagim, Hanukka, The Fifth Night, Educational Companion to the Questions
Can copy this into an AI, or connect the whole library to your assistant. For deeper learning, you can directly use the original seforim, sites, and apps.
ḤANUKKA FOR OUR TIME
The Soviet regime also tried to destroy Judaism as a religion. Under Communist rule, the Soviet Union tried to limit the influence of all religions, believing them to be opposed to the political and social ideologies of Communism. It was almost impossible to practise Judaism in Soviet Russia, and those Jews who expressed an interest in leaving Russia and making aliya risked everything. Yet there were thousands of Jews determined that they would not allow these restrictions to stop them from being Jewish. Ultimately this was another case in Jewish history of a tiny but brave minority taking on a mighty empire and triumphing against all the odds.
We are only sure because of the faith we have in God to guide history, and the faith we have in ourselves to make this happen.
In recent years we have found ourselves facing challenging times (including a global pandemic). The Ḥanukka story shows us that with hope in our hearts that the future will be better, we can have faith that we will get through this together.
FROM THE THOUGHT OF RABBI SACKS
On festivals such as Purim and Pesaḥ, we celebrate deliverance from a physical threat to the Jewish people and the delivery of physical freedom, but Ḥanukka is about celebrating our delivery from a force that wished to destroy Judaism itself. The message of Ḥanukka is that all people deserve to be able to practise their religion in peace.
Soviet Russia was not a place and time in history where there was religious freedom. Ḥanukka’s message is that freedom will always triumph.
IT ONCE HAPPENED…
The photo (and the poem written on the back) is a reminder that no matter how dark times get, and how much it looks like our survival is at risk, the Jewish people will always survive and persevere. Taking it one step further, we can also note that the uniform of the Israel Defense Forces worn by the great-grandson of the original owners of this Ḥanukkiya represents the modern-day Maccabees and a strengthened faith that the Jewish people will survive.
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
The number of lit candles.
A Hebrew letter on a dreidel has changed.
A present has changed colour from yellow to green.
The drizzled icing on the doughnut is missing.
The number of presents the man is holding.
The t-shirt of the person lighting the candles.
An oil jug has disappeared.
The colour of the sprinkles on a doughnut.