Outrageous Hanukkah Wikileaks Disclosures

According to well-informed sources,there is no such thing as confidentiality anymore. The Wikileaks revelations confirm that the best commincations strategy these days is simply not to say anything to anyone, especially if you have something bad to say.

But now that revelations are spewing forth by the wiki-second, I feel safe in revealing these recently discovered classified dispatches from the secret e-files of Judah Maccabee:
Text to his brother Eliezer after the swine-in-the-temple incident (Leaker's note - their disparaging nickname for Antiochus was "Anti-tochus):

"Anti-tochus went too far this time. He sort of looks like that pig. And did you see that women he travels with? Sort of a cross between Muammar Gaddafi and Angela Merkel"

E-mail to Hannah, after the martyrdom of her seventh son.

"Way to go, H. Not to worry. Someday there will be a holiday and everyone will eat donuts and potato pancakes! That'll show 'em. Maybe we'll even name the holiday after you... I know... Hannah...kah!"

Israeli TV Accessible to Americans

GOOD NEWS - The Israeli Network now has English subtitles for many of its programs. This will allow the most popular Israeli TV programs to be accessible to those who are not proficient at Hebrew - it's also a great way to learn some Hebrew and really connect to Israel. The channel has been available for some time via the DISH Network, but the other piece of good news is that they are now expanding to local cable systems. Cablevision already has an extensive international lineup, so it would seem a natural to include the Israeli Network. Imagine being able to watch Israel's top newscasts every day, along with top comedy, drama and children's programming, with English translation. This could go a long way toward helping Americans (Jews and non-Jews) see what is really going on over there. Check the Israeli Network's new website and then contact Cablevision and ask for it! The number is 203-348-9211. Also, email me at rabbi@tbe.org if you would like your name included in a petition I'll be sending Cablevision to bring The Israeli Network to our area.

Counting our Blessings on Thanksgiving

It's often said that Jews have no need for a Thanksgiving festival, since every day should be Thanksgiving day. And indeed, our tradition calls upon us to recite 100 blessings every day, including those over food. But just as Mothers Day is a good thing even though every day should be Mothers Day, so is Thanksgiving a great innovation (borrowed from Sukkot), because it's one day when EVERYONE is doing the same thing in this country, a profoundly religious act, no matter what their background - the act of giving thanks.

Here's a way to bring Jewish content to our Thanksgiving meals.

As we sit down with our families at the table, pause for a moment to remember how fortunate we are, to be thankful for every moment that we are alive, for the capacity to love and to share. Say a spontaneous prayer and try to give it a Jewish context - the formula for a blessing would be perfect. Just begin as we would with any blessing, "Baruch ata Adonai, Elohaynu Melech ha-olam" and then add, in English "we are so thankful for ___."

Tradition instructs us to try to utter 100 blessings every day, whether spontaneous or not. Some can be found in the grace after meals (see Birkat Ha-mazon explained in Wikipedia and in the Jewish Virtual Library) If you would like to add some or all of that beautiful prayer to your Thanksgiving meal, it can be downloaded at Birkat Hamazon [pdf]

Airport Screenings and Jewish Ethics: Hammerman on Ethics (Jewish Week)

Has airport security crossed the line? Things were far less complicated back when only Superman had X-ray vision. As long as we stayed clear of the Daily Planet, we were in the clear. Now, with the new airport security measures, nothing is hidden anymore - not even our privates are private. Is this a good thing?

See my answer here.

Hanukkah: National or Family Needs - Which Comes First?

Which comes first, national or family needs? Click here to see how that plays out in the Hanukkah story.

Parsha Packet for Mikketz - Hanukkah: Sweet Vengeance

After all the calamities of Jewish history, and in particular the Holocaust, how should Jews respond? By seeking revenge or reconciliation with former enemies? Click here for "Sweet Vengeance," with a focus on the story of Joseph and his brothers, as well as the Hanukkah story and the film, "Inglorious Basterds."

Parsha Packets: Jewish Symbols and the Problem of Chrismukkah

At what point does the blending of cultures take so much away from two distinct celebration that each loses its true meaning, and the groups lose their distinctiveness? Can this blending be avoided? Click here for the Parsha packet, "Jewish Symbols and the Problem of Chrismukkah"

TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Andrew Young on Vayishlach

Shabbat Shalom!

Good morning, everyone. My name is Andrew Young and I’ll be your host for this edition of, ESPN’s Torah-Center, the world’s most comprehensive telecast for anything related to Jews and Sports.

And that’s the end of our show today...thanks for coming.

No, just kidding. In fact, there’s lots of news today, and believe it or not, it all has to do with this week’s Torah portion.

This week’s portion is Va-yish-lach. It begins with Jacob sending his messengers to speak to Esau. The two hadn’t seen each other in 20 years, since the big birthright upset. Jacob’s messengers return and report that Esau is on his way to see Jacob, along with 400 armed men. Apparently, Esau likes to bring his own fans, preferring not to give anyone home-field advantage.


Not surprisingly, Jacob is afraid. He fears that Esau will kill him and his family. So he divides his family and his possessions into two, hoping that one half could escape if the other is attacked by Esau and his men.

Jacob then prays to God for protection. He starts sending Esau and his advancing men a parade of gifts. The Torah tells us specifically what he sent – two hundred female goats; twenty male goats; two hundred female sheep; twenty rams; thirty camels and their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty donkeys and ten horses. Personally, I wouldn’t be very pleased with any of those gifts, and neither would my mom. That, sports fans, is a lot of pets!


But, the night before that happens, Jacob wrestles with someone, and emerges victorious from an all-night steel cage wrestling match... OK, so maybe there was no steel cage. The mysterious opponent is either God, an angel, himself, or maybe even Esau! Jacob emerges the champion, but he injures his hamstring. Not bad enough to be put on the DL, at least not back then when men were a lot tougher. But the injury is bad enough that he’s limping, and he clearly complains quite a bit about it, because all Jews then decide not to eat the part of the thigh that Jacob injured, somehow insisting that we needed another rule about keeping kosher. As if we needed even more of those rules! During the fight, Jacob might have had some memory loss, because he keeps telling everyone that his name isn’t Jacob, but Israel, which means “someone who has wrestled with God and prevailed.”


You know, in Judaism, we wrestle with ourselves a lot, trying to stretch ourselves to the limit and beyond and do things we wouldn’t normally be able to do. This reminds me of some of my experiences on the baseball diamond, like the time I was given a game ball and I felt my teammate deserved it more. So I gave it to him. But then he gave it back to me and we just kept tossing it back and forth. The two of us were sort of wrestling for the other one to have the ball, even though both of us hoped to get it. In a way, I was struggling with myself to be a good teammate every bit as much as I was struggling with him over the ball.



Some people believe that Jacob may have been wrestling with an angel, or with Esau, or Esau’s shadow - but I believe he was really wrestling with his own fears. All his life he had been running away from those fears, and from Esau. It was time to confront both of them. And once he did that, he was not the same person anymore. So it was time for him to have a new name.

Anyway, he survives the wrestling match, and when he finally meets Esau, he’s relieved to see that, after 20 years, Esau is no longer mad at him. The two brothers kiss and hug and cry together.

This wasn’t an easy reunion for Jacob. Like a lot of things that we worry about, in hindsight, there wasn’t a lot to worry about. But if I look at Jacob’s side of the story as not just worrying, but also preparing as best as he knew how, I see the whole story a little differently. Despite the happy outcome of the reunion, this was a big deal for Jacob, and he prepared for it like it was Game 7 of the World Series. And he let everyone know it was a big deal, and he bothered half his family and a whole lot of animals in the process.


Jacob and Esau might be considered one of the earliest examples of true sibling rivalry. So in a way, I’ve been preparing for this portion, even living it, for the last several years. It’s been difficult, because of course, I know NOTHING about sibling rivalry. Right Marissa?

Seriously, I’ve worked hard, and for me, today is a big deal that involved a lot of worrying and a lot of preparation.

I know it’s not over, just like Jacob and Esau’s reunion was not the end of their story. But it’s nice to reach a resting point where I can stop worrying for a little while and celebrate with people who are so important to me.

Hanukkah E-Lesson - A Public or Private Observance?

From the Conservative Yeshiva:

http://www.conservativeyeshiva.org/distance-learning/hanukkah-public-or-private-observance/

Hanukkah: Public or Private Observance?
By Rabbi Hillel C. Lavery-Yisraeli
This E-Shiur is made possible by a generous grant from Temple Zion Israelite Center, Miami, Florida

CY Hanukkah E-shiur Sourcesheet 2010 (pdf)

CY Hanukkah E-shiur 2010 (pdf, printable version of this webpage)

Hanukkah is often celebrated as the holiday of “religious freedom.” More accurately, it is a holiday celebrating our ability to practice Judaism unhindered, without pressure or influence to do otherwise. At the time, in the second century BCE, many Jews attempted to combine their ancient Jewish practices with newly popular Hellenistic ones; the Maccabees sought to put an end to this.

Though Hanukkah customs abound, such as eating oily foods, spinning tops, gambling, school plays and synagogue parties, the days of Hanukkah are halakhically distinguished from the others in two ways: changes in our regular daily prayers (“Al HaNissim” in Amidah and Birkat HaMazon, recitation of Hallel, and a special Torah reading), and the lighting of a special Hanukkah lamp (today called a menorah or Hanukkiah).

The main elements of the Hanukkah story are the miracles that happened at the time: the victory over the Syrian-Greek forces (“the few against the many”), and the little cruse of oil which burned for eight days – for which we light candles nowadays. A main theme of the Hanukkiah-lighting ritual is “Pirsumei Nisa” – publicizing the miracle. This concept is often misunderstood and misused, for example when giant Hanukkiyot are set up in public spaces, as I will explain later. We shall analyze several passages in the Talmud to understand “Pirsumei Nisa“ better.

[Source א:] The Talmud (Shabbat 23b) deals with poor people who cannot afford to perform all the mitzvot incumbent upon them and therefore must choose which to perform (and which not). It gives preference to the mitzvah that will provide comfort for the family (Shabbat candles) over the Hanukkah lamp, from which no use or benefit may be derived. On the other hand, the rabbinic requirement of lighting on Hanukkah comes before the rabbinic requirement of saying Shabbat Kiddush over wine, since the Hanukkah light has the special quality of “Pirsumei Nisa“. For whom is this “Pirsumei Nisa” done? If it were a need of the community, perhaps it would override one’s family’s needs, as communal needs usually take precedence. However, this is not the case here. The “Pirsumei Nisa” only overrides a family’s other ritual needs.

[Source ב:] The Talmud in Shabbat 21b determines that the Hanukkah lamp should be lit “from sunset until the streets are empty,” a time period in which it will be seen, even if it is only by stragglers (the poor, non-Jewish wood-gatherers – Rashi). The discussion then raises two different interpretations of what this phrase means: 1) that it is the time period during which it must be lit (without specifying how long the lights must burn), and accordingly, if the streets are empty, it’s too late; or 2) that it fixes the length of time it must be capable of burning, regardless of when it’s actually lit (even if late at night), which assigns less importance to it being seen.

[Source ג:] Like the time for lighting the Hanukkiah, so too the location is very important. The Talmud in Shabbat 21b instructs that it be placed strategically so that it will be visible to others – outside one’s doorway, or in a street-facing window if one lives above street-level. And the Hanukkiah must not be placed too high (Shabbat 22a) – if it’s more than twenty cubits (approx. 9.6 m) above street level, people won’t be able to see it easily and one doesn’t fulfil her/his obligation.* The ability for the public to see the Hanukkiah is an integral requirement.
Yet the public’s viewing is not our only consideration. The Hanukkiah must be recognizable as belonging to one’s house (Shabbat 21b) – within a handbreadth of the doorway, or in the window. The Talmud (Shabbat 23a, not on the Source Sheet) indicates that one away from home should have someone else light there if possible; lighting on a bus, in an airport, on an airplane, in a public square, at city hall, or at a party does not discharge one’s obligation, and a blessing recited over such a lighting would sadly be in vain. In times of danger (21b) when the balance of public-private observance – just outside one’s residence – is not feasible, the Hanukkiah is moved indoors; “Pirsumei Nisa” in such circumstances is limited to one’s family. The only exception to the requirement that the lighting be at one’s residence is the lighting in the synagogue before our evening prayers, also for “Pirsumei Nisa“. Even so, the one who lights there has not fulfilled her/his obligation, and lights again at home with a blessing. Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayyim, 671:7. (Lighting candles in shul in the morning is a mere custom, no obligation is fulfilled and no blessing is said.)

Jews in the diaspora have clearly been influenced by the way our neighbors celebrate Christmas. Some Jews may feel a need to compete, using giant Hanukkiyot and public lightings attended by dignitaries. But this was not the intended nature of Hanukkah’s “Pirsumei Nisa“. In Judaism, Hanukkah is a minor holiday. “Pirsumei Nisa” is meant to be observed primarily with our families, and shared with our community but from within the family setting. It is to emphasize how Judaism is safe and strong when we safeguard it in our homes. This balance of public and private observance is what gives Hanukkah its special nature, and is one that should not be overlooked.

*One whose window is more than 10 meters above street level should, if possible, light at the entrance of the building, or in the hallway at the entrance to his/her apartment. Some say that if there are other windows level to and looking towards his/hers, then one’s window can be used even if it’s more than 10 meters above street level. When none of these is possible, one relies on the dispensation mentioned in Source ג (originally for times of danger) and lights inside one’s home.

G-dcast Spins Hanukkah

A Special Place in Hell-Israel News - Haaretz Israeli News source.

A Special Place in Hell-Israel News - Haaretz Israeli News source.

An astute Israeli journalist travels to America to see why so many American Jews have been turned off to Israel, and he discovers, amazingly, that it seems to be in the Israeli government's interest to turn them off even more.

Cheating Scandal at Central Florida

The cheating scandal to end all cheating scandals. University of Central Florida



UCF Cheating Scandal Follow Up of the Day: Nearly two weeks after University of Central Florida professor Richard Quinn used highly-detailed analysis to accuse many of the 600 students in his Strategic Management course of cheating on their midterm exam, over 200 have come forward to admit to using a stolen test bank to determine the answers.

“I don’t want to have to explain to your parents why you didn’t graduate, so I went to the Dean and I made a deal,” Quinn said during the 15-minute lecture in which he laid out his reasoning for the accusation (above). “The deal is you can either wait it out and hope that we don’t identify you, or you can identify yourself to your lab instructor and you can complete the rest of the course and the grade you get in the course is the grade you earned in the course.”

Despite the egregious nature of this incident, Quinn said he was “looking forward to moving past this incident and focusing on the rest of the semester.”

Hanukkah Sourcebook

Click here for a sourcebook filled with information about Hanukkah, including historical background, halachic guidelines, creative rituals and how to deal with the December dilemma.

God and Messiah: A Sourcebook

Click here for a sourcebook filled with material on how Jews view God and Messiah.

Stealing Truth: Is It Ever Ethical to Deceive?

Click here for a Parsha Packet on the importance of truth, using several scenarios to determine when, if ever, it is proper to deceive. Plus a look at business ethics and Jewish values in marketing practices.