Happy, Illuminating Chanukah

December 7, 2009

May your Chanukah be a time of growing light, bringing illumination and clarity into the places that need it. Whether you are alone, with a partner, with children, with friends….this can be a time to take a few moments to focus on what brings brightness to your dark times, or what values you hold most dearly, for which you are willing to take a stand.

Please find below a link to my favorite website for learning more about Judaism and Jewish values; there are short pieces for people with every degree of knowledge and from a myriad of perspectives. There are many articles about the meaning, traditions, conflicts, food, culture of Chanukah. Click here for one chock-full website, myjewishlearning.com.

Also, in case you do not know the story of how the primarily non-Jewish town of Billings, Montana fought racism and antisemitism in the mid 1990s, in part, through putting up menorahs in their windows. I think you will find the following two links to be very interesting and inspiring:

The Town That Fought Hatred

Not in Our Town is the PBS recap of the story, with an interesting Portland connection.

Deborah Eisenbach-Budner
Havurah Shalom Educator