Hanukkah Blessings
Tu BiSh’vat: Resources
In a few weeks we will be celebrating Tu BiSh’vat. There are numerous approaches you could take in planning your celebration.
Tu BiSh'vat: A Personal Reflection
While we have been having a relatively warm winter in the United States, it cannot compare to what winter is like in Israel. It is the rainy season there, the time of year that Israel greens up, with cooler temperatures and rain (which feels like a miracle every time I experience it) in bet
Rosh Chodesh: My “Girl” Gathering
With great excitement, tinged with a touch of trepidation, I moved to Israel in the summer of 1996 to begin my first year of rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College.
Hanukkah: A Re-Dedication to our Highest Values
A few weeks ago I attended a local event featuring Joseph Goldstein, the world-renowned Buddhist teacher and author who was here in Brattleboro to help the Vermont Insight Meditation Center celebrate its fifth anniversary. I enjoyed the gathering immensely and was energized by seeing so man
Happy Hanumas? Ditch Season's Greetings
Happy Hanumas? Happy Chrismakah? Merry Chanukah? The winter holidays are fast approaching. It's time for non-celebrants of Christmas to read yourselves for the onslaught of seasonal niceties from store clerks and acquaintances.
hanukkiyah
Nine-branched candelabra used during Hanukkah – eight branches for each night of the holiday, plus another branch (often taller, central, or more prominently displayed) for the shamash (helper) candle, which is used to light the others.
dreidel
"Spinning top" in Yiddish (derived from German); "sevivon" in Hebrew; toy used in a children's Hanukkah game.
gelt
"Money" (Yiddish); often given as a Hanukkah gift; used for playing dreidel.