Childbirth Choices & Prep Classes
(Class/Workshop) September 21st, 2010 (6:30 PM to 8:45 PM)
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(Class/Workshop) September 21st, 2010 (6:30 PM to 8:45 PM)
With CNY Doulas. 407 Tulip St, Liverpool. Pre-register. 455-6MOM.
View all calendar events
Sandwich on a stick
Ingredients: Bread, cheese, diced ham, grape tomatoes, lettuce, pickle, olive. Directions: Cut up cubes of bread, cheese, and ham. Slide the cubes onto a skewer with other foods your child likes... More
Ingredients: Bread, cheese, diced ham, grape tomatoes, lettuce, pickle, olive. Directions: Cut up cubes of bread, cheese, and ham. Slide the cubes onto a skewer with other foods your child likes... More
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Hannukah:A dedication to sacred space
Posted on Wed, November 25th, 2009
Written by: Rabbi Daniel Victor , Temple Adath Yeshurun, DeWitt
email:
“The Land of Israel is situated in the center of the world, and Jerusalem in the center of the Land of Israel, and the Holy Temple in the center of Jerusalem...”
-Rabbinic Commentary on the Talmud
My children, this is how it once was. No matter who was ruling over the Jews, they had their Temple. The holiday of Hannukah brings us back to the time when the mighty Greeks ruled over Israel, yet the Temple still stood in Jerusalem. When the Greeks would conquer a territory they would introduce the local population to their way of life; Hellenism. The locals, in this case the Jews, would get seduced by their gymnasiums, their art, music, philosophy, science and mathematics. Yet, the Jewish soul remained because it still had its central place of worship. There came a time, however, when a new king arose in Greece, who did not know of the Jews’ dedication to the Temple. His name was Antiochus, and he was a believer in many gods, and offered sacrifices to statues of Zeus. And so he forbade the Jews to practice circumcision, learn Hebrew, study Torah, keep their calendar, or observe their holidays. It wasn’t long after enacting these terrible restrictions that he struck the ultimate blow. Jews were no longer allowed to offer sacrifices at the Temple. The Temple was, in every way, the sacred space of the Jewish people, and so to ensure that his new laws were followed, Antiochus ransacked the holy site. He set up his own sacrifices in the Temple, built a statue of Zeus, the chief god of the Greeks, and sacrificed pig at its feet! Antiochus believed that if he defeated the Jewish God, expressed through their dedication to the Temple, the Jews would ultimately be defeated. Yet in the end, his actions brought the opposite result.
One day a group of soldiers come to the town of Modi’in just west of Jerusalem. They built an alter there, and began to force Jews to bow before it. In this town lived a dedicated Jewish family known as the Hasmoneans; headed by a man named Mattathias, and his five sons. For them, the desecration of the Temple was the last straw. They rose up in defiance and Mattathias called out, “Let all who choose God follow me.” This was the beginning of the Jewish rebellion. Jews today read the following words as part of their liturgy and benedictions: “You God delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, the wrong ones into the hands of those that observed and were dedicated to Torah.” The Jews fought for many years, and they finally forced the Greeks to surrender Jerusalem. The Jews quickly went to the Temple and destroyed the statue of Zeus. They cleaned everything out and rededicated the Temple to God and the Jewish people. This is how Hannukah got its name, for Hannukah means “dedication.” Legend has it that it was as part of this rededication that the miracle of the oil lasting eight days took place.
Only two hundred years after the course of events which brought us the holiday of Hannukah, the Jews lost their Temple again, this time at the hand of the Romans, and this time for good. With the loss of the Temple, the focus on a single place, changed to a new focus on all the places where Judaism is observed. To this point, the rabbis say: “The stones of the ruined Temple were scattered around the world. Wherever a stone fell, a place of holiness was built: a synagogue, a school, a home.” Hopefully all these places, from Roman times until today, allow Jews to maintain their dedication to their history, traditions, and culture. So when Hannukah comes this year, do not ask, what is Hannukah? Ask, what is my Hannukah? To what places and spaces am I truly committed, to what places and spaces do I dedicate my heart?
Source: Cardin, Nina Beth “The Tapestry of Jewish Time.” Behrman House, NJ 2000
You can contact with any questions. Also, feel free to post comments below.
Comments powered by Disqus
Posted on Wed, November 25th, 2009
Written by: Rabbi Daniel Victor , Temple Adath Yeshurun, DeWitt
email:
“The Land of Israel is situated in the center of the world, and Jerusalem in the center of the Land of Israel, and the Holy Temple in the center of Jerusalem...”
-Rabbinic Commentary on the Talmud
My children, this is how it once was. No matter who was ruling over the Jews, they had their Temple. The holiday of Hannukah brings us back to the time when the mighty Greeks ruled over Israel, yet the Temple still stood in Jerusalem. When the Greeks would conquer a territory they would introduce the local population to their way of life; Hellenism. The locals, in this case the Jews, would get seduced by their gymnasiums, their art, music, philosophy, science and mathematics. Yet, the Jewish soul remained because it still had its central place of worship. There came a time, however, when a new king arose in Greece, who did not know of the Jews’ dedication to the Temple. His name was Antiochus, and he was a believer in many gods, and offered sacrifices to statues of Zeus. And so he forbade the Jews to practice circumcision, learn Hebrew, study Torah, keep their calendar, or observe their holidays. It wasn’t long after enacting these terrible restrictions that he struck the ultimate blow. Jews were no longer allowed to offer sacrifices at the Temple. The Temple was, in every way, the sacred space of the Jewish people, and so to ensure that his new laws were followed, Antiochus ransacked the holy site. He set up his own sacrifices in the Temple, built a statue of Zeus, the chief god of the Greeks, and sacrificed pig at its feet! Antiochus believed that if he defeated the Jewish God, expressed through their dedication to the Temple, the Jews would ultimately be defeated. Yet in the end, his actions brought the opposite result.
One day a group of soldiers come to the town of Modi’in just west of Jerusalem. They built an alter there, and began to force Jews to bow before it. In this town lived a dedicated Jewish family known as the Hasmoneans; headed by a man named Mattathias, and his five sons. For them, the desecration of the Temple was the last straw. They rose up in defiance and Mattathias called out, “Let all who choose God follow me.” This was the beginning of the Jewish rebellion. Jews today read the following words as part of their liturgy and benedictions: “You God delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, the wrong ones into the hands of those that observed and were dedicated to Torah.” The Jews fought for many years, and they finally forced the Greeks to surrender Jerusalem. The Jews quickly went to the Temple and destroyed the statue of Zeus. They cleaned everything out and rededicated the Temple to God and the Jewish people. This is how Hannukah got its name, for Hannukah means “dedication.” Legend has it that it was as part of this rededication that the miracle of the oil lasting eight days took place.
Only two hundred years after the course of events which brought us the holiday of Hannukah, the Jews lost their Temple again, this time at the hand of the Romans, and this time for good. With the loss of the Temple, the focus on a single place, changed to a new focus on all the places where Judaism is observed. To this point, the rabbis say: “The stones of the ruined Temple were scattered around the world. Wherever a stone fell, a place of holiness was built: a synagogue, a school, a home.” Hopefully all these places, from Roman times until today, allow Jews to maintain their dedication to their history, traditions, and culture. So when Hannukah comes this year, do not ask, what is Hannukah? Ask, what is my Hannukah? To what places and spaces am I truly committed, to what places and spaces do I dedicate my heart?
Source: Cardin, Nina Beth “The Tapestry of Jewish Time.” Behrman House, NJ 2000
You can contact with any questions. Also, feel free to post comments below.
Comments powered by Disqus