KISLEV 5774 בס”ד VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 2 NOVEMBER 2013 the chabad times A PUBLICATION OF CHABAD LUBAVITCH OF IDAHO FEATURES: CHANUKAH • The Broken Jug • To Be a Jew in the Free World ON ICE! • Chanukah Guide Details on back cover • Chanukah & Thanksgiving • Low-Fat Latkes Happy Chanukah! CONTENT A WORD FROM THE 2 A Word from the Director DIRECTOR 3 Chanukah & Thanksgiving Dear Friend, 4 Chanukah Guide All of us struggle with darkness— whether it be from within our own selves or from 6 The Chanukah Story the big, scary world out there. The Pilgrims 7 To Be a Jew in the Free World wrestled with the gloom in their times. We Jews have had our fair share of dealing 8 The Broken Jug with dark periods and conditions. 9 Youth Programs Chanukah comes to say: Don’t fight with 10 From Our Mailbox shadows. Instead, light a candle and the 11 Ask the Rabbi darkness will run away. 12 Photos What’s a candle? A candle is a mitzvah—a divinely beautiful deed, handed to us straight from Heaven to uplift our world and make 13 Grand Menorah Lighting it into a divinely beautiful place. Nothing is more powerful than a 13 Chanukah Recipe mitzvah. 14 Public Menorahs So, as the sun’s light dwindles and the days shorten, we light one small candle. The next night we light two. Bit by bit, the light 15 Women’s Events becomes stronger until we reach the power of eight—a number 16 Chanukah on Ice that represents a power beyond nature, a miraculous power. There are so many lessons to be learned from Chanukah, but ADVERTISE IN THE CHABAD TIMES let’s start here: When darkness looms, make more light. Do more Reach Jewish households across Idaho! good. Add another mitzvah to your life and make your light shine AD SIZE COST brighter each day. Your efforts may seem small in comparison Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho Lubavitch Chabad Business Card $100 to the darkness out there, but never underestimate the power of 1/4 page Ad $180 light. Like in the story of the Maccabees, just a little bit of light can 1/2 page Ad $300 chase away a whole lot of darkness. Full page Ad $500 Chanukah is a lesson in life—perhaps the most important lesson you’ll ever learn. This year, let’s make it personal. On the cover: Public Menorah Sincerely Yours, The Chabad Times Published by Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho Rabbi Mendel & Esther Lifshitz 3813 W. State St. Boise, Idaho 83703 208.853.9200 TURN YOUR CAR INTO A MITZVAH! THE CHABAD TIMES TIMES THE CHABAD [email protected] www.jewishidaho.com Donate it today! Director: Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz Editor: Esther Lifshitz Free Pickup Contributing Editor: D. Smith Select content courtesy of www.chabad.org Call (208) 853-9200 for more information. Printing Courtesy of: ASAP Printing Design: Ben Rose The Chabad Times is published five times a year for the Jewish Holidays. © Copyright Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho, Inc. Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho does not certify or endorse the kashrut or views of its advertisers. 2 CHANUKAH & THANKSGIVING by Tzvi Freeman Thanksgiving will be celebrated on the same schedule, the people celebrating Thanksgiving will continue following the Gregorian Yes, this Chanukah, if you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, you’ll want calendar without modification, the Jewish calendar will continue to light the second candle of the menorah at your turkey dinner. on its current 19-year cycle, …then the next time the two will No, it’s not true that this has never happened before. Let’s work this coincide would be when Thanksgiving falls on Chanukah eve in the through step by step: year 2070. That would repeat itself in 2165. Chanukah was declared a Jewish national holiday 2178 years ago. You might notice that these dates are getting further and further Thanksgiving was declared a national American holiday on the last apart. That’s not just FDR’s fault. Both the Gregorian calendar and Thursday of every November by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Before the Jewish calendar are slowly drifting in relation to the actual then, Thanksgiving was celebrated on different dates in different solar year—but at different rates. After 2165, Chanuka would states, so we won’t count those. But, using the Date Converter at have completely drifted out of November—unless one of these jewishidaho.com/6225, you will see that Thanksgiving coincided calendars (or Thanksgiving) is changed. TIMES THE CHABAD with the first day of Chanukah on November 29, 1888. It also The most important codification of the laws of the Jewish calendar coincided with the fifth day of Chanukah on November 30, 1899. was written by Maimonides in the 12th century. The standard medieval commentary to that text points out that the calendar is set up in such a way that eventually it will self-obsolesce. By the year 6,000 (that’s 2240 on the Gregorian calendar), the holidays— most importantly, Passover—will start falling in the wrong seasons. His conclusion: Before that time, the Moshiach is expected to arrive, and gather the Jews from the diaspora. At that point, we will return to establishing the calendar on a month by month basis, as was done originally, before the current diaspora. of Idaho Lubavitch Chabad Yes, making appointments is going to be a bit of a challenge, but there will certainly be solutions. At any rate, the benefits far exceed On November 28, 1918, Thanksgiving was on Chanukah eve. But the inconvenience. since it’s still Thanksgiving until midnight, and Jewish days begin One thing is certain, however, as Rabbi Nachman ben Moshe wrote at night, that would still mean that Jewish Americans would have in the 13th century: We will forever continue to light the Chanukah eaten their turkeys that Thanksgiving to the light of their first lamps for eight nights, every Chanukah. Some lights can never be Chanukah candle. extinguished. It gets more complicated. Originally, Thanksgiving was always For more on the connection between Thanksgiving and Chanukah, on the last Thursday of November. In 1936, FDR decided it see www.jewishidaho.com/2346876. would be good for the economy to push Thanksgiving back a little, so he declared the fourth Thursday of that November to be Thanksgiving—even though there were five Thursdays to November that year. In 1942, that became federal law. But not all states went along with it. As late as 1956, Texas was still celebrating Thanksgiving a week later than the rest of the country. Which means that if you were a Texan Jewish family, you would be eating that turkey to the light of your first Chanukah light in 1945 and 1956. Will it ever happen again? Interesting question. If we project forward, assuming that: 3 CHANUKAH GUIDE CHANUKAH Chanukah surround the person. WHEN TO LIGHT YOUR until Shabbat ends (after Chanukah is an eight-day Others place it on a windowsill MENORAH nightfall Saturday night) and festival that begins on the eve facing a public thoroughfare. The Chanukah lights are until the Havdalah prayer is of the 25th of the Jewish month (If placed on the windowsill, it kindled in the evening recited, the Chanukah menorah of Kislev. should be no higher than 20 preceding each of the eight should not be re-lit, moved or cubits—about 29 feet—above prepared. The Chanukah festival days of Chanukah. The custom street level). commemorates the miraculous of many communities (and Chanukah lights for Saturday victory of light over dark when such is the Chabad-Lubavitch night are kindled only after the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) SETTING UP YOUR custom) is to light the menorah Shabbat ends. sought to forcefully Hellenize MENORAH shortly after sunset; other the people of Israel. Read the The Chanukah lights should communities light it at nightfall. BLESSINGS FOR THE Chanukah story on page 6. consist of lamps or candles— In either case, the menorah MENORAH i.e., a flammable fuel that feeds must contain enough fuel at On the first night of Chanukah, a visible flame via a wick. The the time of the lighting to burn Wednesday, November 27, most ideal way to fulfill the until 30 minutes after nightfall. recite all three blessings. On mitzvah is with cotton wicks in Note: Many standard Chanukah all subsequent nights, recite olive oil, or beeswax candles; candles last only approximately blessings number 1 and 2. paraffin candles or other types 30 minutes. If using those See page 5 for daily instructions of candles or lamps are also candles, then light after nightfall and blessings. acceptable, but not gas lights every night (aside for Friday—see After kindling the lights, or electric lights. The lamps or below). the Haneirot Halalu prayer candles must contain enough If one did not kindle the is recited. At the heart of the holiday is the fuel, at the time of the lighting, Chanukah lights early in the to burn until half an hour after nightly menorah (candelabrum) evening, they can be kindled SACRED LIGHTS lighting: a single flame on the nightfall (nightfall is about 40 later, as long as there are One is not to benefit first night, two on the second minutes after sunset). people in the streets (or others from the light of evening, and so on till the The lamps or candles should awake in the the candles, only eighth night of Chanukah, be arranged in a house). from the shamash when all eight lights are straight row, and other sources of kindled. and should be of equal light. For the first height.