HAKOL Chanukah 5781 Kislev - Shevat 5781 December 2020 - February 2021 Solihull & District Hebrew Congregation www.solihullshul.org Tel:0121 706 8736 [email protected] registered charity no. 1100938 Dear Friends, Potato latkas. Dreidels. Judah the Maccabee. Judith the Heroine. The Chanukah Menorah. Blue cardboard boxes of all different colored candles. (As a kid did you try to create an interesting pattern each night?) Chocolate Chanukah coins. The song, Maoz Tzur. “I had a little dreidel...” Clay Menorahs made in Hebrew school. Chanukah is made of memories and for memories. Taste the latkas and jam doughnuts. See the candles burn brightly in the Menorah. Hear the singing of the blessings over the Menorah. Touch the letters engraved on the dreidel: nun, gimmel, hay, shin - “A Great Miracle Happened There.” Chanukah is a special time for family, friends and children. Chanukah is a Jewish holiday celebrating the victory of the weak (militarily) over the mighty, the few (in number) over the many. Chanukah is a celebration of the re-dedication of the Holy Temple after it had been defiled - but not destroyed - by the Greeks. For the Greeks did not wish to destroy the Holy Temple nor the Torah; they wished only to defile the mitzvot (commandments). The Greeks attempted to lessen their holiness, their uniqueness, their impact on our Jewish lives. “We too, have wisdom,” they declared. “We, too, have gods. We, too, have holidays. Know that your Temple is like our temples. The wisdom of your Divine Torah is like our man-made wisdom. There is nothing particularly holy about them.” So what do you say to a child who wants a “Chanukah bush,” or who wants a photograph with Santa? What do you do about the pressure of giving Chanukah presents instead of the Jewish custom of giving Chanukah gelt (money). The easiest response might be: “They have their holiday and we have ours - Chanukah.” That response might be on the verge of being P.C., but it’s certainly not C. P.- Chanukah Perfect. You see, as soon as we start comparing Chanukah with the 25th of December, or when we try to turn Chanukah into the Jewish equivalent of that day, it is as if we are handing over a victory to the “Greeks.” Celebrate Chanukah in the true spirit of the holiday - not as a consolation or a competition - but as an opportunity to prove in our own lives that the ancient battle and victory over the Greeks was not in vain. Explore the themes of Chanukah, including the idea of dedication (the actual meaning of the Hebrew word Chanuka) and Jewish education (or “chinuch” in Hebrew, from the same word as Chanukah). Light the Chanukah Menorah each night of Chanukah and watch Jewish pride grow as the numbers and strength of the Chanukah lights increase. Let the lights of the Chanukah Menorah - and all of the beautiful and unforgettable Chanukah traditions, customs, mitzvot and memories - add their pure, holy light to the world. CONTENTS A tribute to Rabbi Lord Sacks 3 Rabbi Yehuda Pink Public Menorah Lighting 5 Virtual Chanukah Celebration 6 Menorah in a nutshell Chanukah Lighting Guide 8 Art with Lee 10 Why: The menorah lighting was instituted as a publicity strategy: advertising to How Can we Help You? 11 Mezuzah Sale 12 the entire world that G-d makes miracles for those who stand up for truth and Community News 13 justice. 12 Tips for Amazing Chanukah 19 When: The Maccabees chased away the forces of darkness with swords; we do it 13 Key Chanukah Facts 23 The Chanukah Story 26 with candles. That’s why we light the menorah shortly after sunset. Two exceptions: The Gulag Menorah 29 On Friday evening, light the candles before sunset. On Saturday evening, light That’s Mine! 31 them after dark. Jews and Greeks 35 Chanukah Recipes 36 Where: Wherever you happen to be living at the time. Set up the menorah in a The Thursday Club 37 central doorway, near the doorpost opposite the mezuzah. Others have the custom Dates in Jewish History 38 of placing it on a windowsill facing the street. Wills & Legacies 41 Shabbos Times 43 Who: Every Jewish person—men, women and children. In many homes, the head Jewish Humour 44 of the household lights one menorah for everyone. In others, everyone lights their Ask the Rabbi 45 own. Some light one candle and let the kids light the rest. Wish List 46 Solihull Academy of Jewish Learning 48 The Menorah: The Chanukah miracle involved olive oil, so that’s the fuel of Adverts 57 choice. But you can use any candle that will burn until one-half hour after nightfall. Electric Menorahs are good for decoration, but you need the old-fashioned one to fulfill the Mitzvah. A tribute to Emeritus Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks by Rabbi Yehuda Pink The death of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks of blessed I came to 770, and eventually the moment came when memory is a devastating blow to society. He was one of I was ushered into the Rebbe’s study. I asked him all my the most eloquent and influential ambassadors of G-d to intellectual, philosophical questions; he gave intellectual, the world in the past couple of decades. philosophical answers, and then he did what no one else had done. My first encounter with him was in 1993. At the time every communal Rabbi had to receive the Chief Rabbi's He did a role reversal, he started asking me questions. How Certificate to Practice in order to be appointed to a many Jewish students are in Cambridge? How many get pulpit in the UK. So off I went to Woburn House for involved in Jewish life? What are you doing to bring other my interview. people in? As the youngest communal Rabbi in the UK at the time Now, I hadn’t come to become a Shliach [Chabad-Lubavitch I was extremely nervous. I was ushered into his office emissary]. I’d come to ask a few simple questions, and all of by the formidable Syma Weinberg, the Chief Executive a sudden he was challenging me. So I did the English thing. of the Office of the Chief Rabbi. Leaning back in his You know, the English can construct sentences like nobody chair puffing on his pipe he immediately put me at ease else, you know? They can construct more complex excuses for by asking me to convey his best wishes to my father doing nothing, than anyone else on earth. (laughter) who he told me he knew well not just from his work in education but also from his Cambridge days when my So I started the sentence, "In the situation in which I find father would accompany Rabbi Shmuel Lew and Rabbi myself..." – and the Rebbe did something which I think Faivish Vogel to conduct Torah study groups for the was quite unusual for him, he actually stopped me in mid- Jewish students. He then went on to give me some sage sentence. He says, "Nobody finds themselves in a situation; advice which has stood me in good stead over the years. you put yourself in a situation. And if you put yourself in that situation, you can put yourself in another situation." The Chief Rabbi visited Solihull on a number of occasions, on one memorable occasion when our late That moment changed my life. President Sydney Fisher was too ill to attend the service at the Shul, Rabbi Sacks made a special detour to his Here I was, a nobody from nowhere, and here was one of the flat to wish him well and personally present him with greatest leaders in the Jewish world challenging me not to a plaque honouring him for decades of service to the accept the situation, but to change it. And that was when I community. realized what I have said many times since: That the world was wrong. When they thought that the most important fact On a number of occasions Rabbi Sacks shared the about the Rebbe was that here was a man with thousands of moment that changed his life. I quote below from a followers, they missed the most important fact: That a good speech he gave in November 2011. leader creates followers, but a great leader creates leaders. Page 3 That's what the Rebbe did for me and for thousands of others. What better tribute can we pay to Rabbi Sacks than attempting to incorporate this lesson into our own lives. Everyone of us can strive to become a leader, whether of our own sphere of influence or even simply of ourselves, striving to always move forward and turn each situation into a positive one. We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Lady Elaine and children Josh, Dina and Gila. The programme will be livestreamed on https://rabbisacks.org/shloshim/ Page 4 Page 5 Page 7 How to Shamash Thursday 10th December Celebrate Blessings 1, 2 & 3 Friday 11th December Chanukah Blessings 1, 2 Before 3.30 pm Light the Menorah each night of Chanukah. All members of the family should be present Saturday 12th December at the kindling of the lights. Family members Blessings 1 & 2 who are sleeping away from home should light After 4.45 pm the Menorah at the place they are staying for the night. If you are unable to the light the Menorah, Sunday 13th December Blessings 1 & 2 for example you are travelling by plane. Ask a member of your household or a friend to have you in mind when they light the menorah.