The Yehuda-Yehudis dance Chanukah is an exquisite choreography of masculine and feminine energy harmonized into a unique dance of beauty and holiness. Both the laws and the story of Chanukah express the deep, quiet, inner power of the feminine as well as the assertive impact of the masculine. The Greeks forbade the study and practice of the Torah (a primarily male activity) and they also legislated the defilement of Jewish brides by the emperor. The Maccabi brothers, led by the hero of the story, Yehuda, battled the Greeks and the Hellenists to reclaim the social fabric of a ..

Reflections in the Lights Chanukah 5767 © Rabbi David Lapin, 2006 Magic Moments We beautify our Chanukah Lights: we buy glamorous Menorot, and use the purest of oil or the most beautiful of candles. But we never get the joy of the splendor we create! Immediately after lighting, and singing Ma’oz Tzur, we rush off and miss the magic moments of savoring their beauty. We are in too much of a rush! We have too much to do! Yet only moments before, we piously said: “Ein Lanu Reshut LeHishtameish Bahem, Elah Lir’ottam Bil’vad” (We do not have permission to make use of the Cha..

The natural and the supernatural The idea of miracle covers a spectrum of event-types. On the one end of the spectrum some miraculous events seem to be quite natural and on the other end we call supernatural events miracles. I just had the thrilling privilege of being the Sundek at my grandson's bris in Israel. The birth of a perfect little child is always a miracle, but it is natural. What happened with the oil that burnt in the Beis Hamikdash eight times longer than it should naturally have burned was a supernatural miracle. On that first Chanukah in the time of the Maccabees ..

The Spiritual marathon Athletes hit their peak somewhere under the age of 30. Then it’s downhill all the way! People who compete (against no one but their own potential) in the sport of spiritual athletics on the other hand, reach their peak much, much later on. In last week’s “Toldot with Meforshim Shiur for Women (and Men)”http://iawaken.org/shiurim/view.asp?id=6506 I explained the Kelei Yakar who sees this as the essence of the name “Yaacov”. Eisav is born near perfect (from the perspective of his physical appearance), but Yaacov (named that by G-d Himself not by his parents[1]..