https://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=32578 Newest articles written by Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov Copyright 2026, Chabad.org - Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center, all rights reserved. Mon, 01 Jan, 0001 12:00:00 EST Mon, 01 Jan 0001 12:00:00 EST https://www.chabad.org/article.asp?aid=6725809 https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/6725809/jewish/The-Hanukkah-Flames-That-Outburned-the-Spanish-Flu.htm The following childhood memory was shared by Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Aizik Hodakov, a pioneering educator in Latvia and America, and chief of staff of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory: There is one Chanukah that is deeply etched in my memory. It took place during the final months of World War I when I was just a young boy, around bar mitzvah age, living in Riga, Latvia. I had lost my father, Rabbi Shalom Yisrael, of blessed memory, during the war, and my mother worked hard to support us. Those were days of chaos and confusion. The front line passed through Riga, with Germans on one side and Russians on the other. Bullets whistled through the air, explosions thundered, and airplanes flew overhead. The city changed hands several times. The Germans would capture it, then the Russians would take control, and meanwhile, the Latvians were preparing for independence. No one was sure they would live to see the next day. Adding Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:00:00 EST