ב"ה

Chanukah 5763 - Nov. 29-Dec. 7, 2002

The Lightness of Being

If you recorded every word you said for 24 hours, you'd probably find hundreds of references to light. Light, brightness, radiance -- these are the metaphors we use when we wish to speak about hope, wisdom, and goodness
Parshah
Vayeshev in a Nutshell
Jacob makes a colored coat for his favorite son, Joseph. Joseph’s brothers are jealous; they sell him to travelling Ishmaelites, and tell Jacob he is dead. Joseph is taken to Egypt, works for Potiphar, and is thrown into jail, where he meets the baker and the butler and interprets their dreams.
Shutters and Blinds

What does light give? The details. The color and texture. The fullness and the goodness. It balances the shadows and fills in the outlines, so that the remaining darkness only adds contrast, complexity, beauty and interest to my world.
Why Couldn't the Jews and Greeks Just Get Along?

The Jews and Greeks could have learned so much from each other! Instead, the extremists of both sides hit the battlefield
Story
Eight Chanukah Stories
Judea, 139 BCE... Heaven, 25 Kislev, 3622 from creation... Mezhibuzh, 18th Century... France, 1942... Kharkov, 1995... Los Angeles, 2002...
Eight Shades of Light

In the beginning, darkness and light were one. Then G-d separated between revealed good and concealed good, challenging us to cultivate the day and transform the night
The study of Zohar exalts the soul; study of Midrash arouses the heart; Psalms with tears scours the vessel [of the soul - i.e., the body.]
— Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (1789-1866)
Print Magazine

To whom does a Jew pray?

Can He be described? Does He have a name?

No, there is no description with which to imagine Him, no name with which to grasp Him.

Even the pronoun “Him” implies too much to be true—as though He could be a third party, absent or present. Even the title “Infinite Light” misses the mark, as th...

New on Chabad.org