Chanukah has come and gone. The menorahs are back in their boxes, the silver ones back in the breakfront ... What now?. Because Chanukah, for all its warmth and beauty, never pretends to be an ending. It is not Pesach, which promises redemption ... The Romans ... .
Chanukah is considered by the world at large, and by those who like to pontificate, as a stunning military victory. A small band of Jews defeated a mighty empire. The miracle of the oil is mentioned as a sidebar ... Kedusha versus tumah ... Imagine ... Imagine ... .
Every year, as Chanukah approaches, I find myself unconsciously bracing for something entirely unrelated to the spiritual preparations of the Yom Tov... Some of the explanations, if we are being charitable, are bewildering ... It is grotesque ... Just Saying. .
There is a well-known story about Rav Chaim Brisker, one of those stories whose simplicity hides a lifetime of truth. A former Volozhiner talmid who had long fallen off the derech once met Rav Chaim after many years ... “Du hust nit kashas ... Again ... .
I am writing this on Motzoei Shabbos in Teverya. Normally, by Thursday I’ve already sent in my article, and by Monday it’s edited, proofed, and ready for the presses. But this week, I asked the editors to hold off ... For that alone, the trip was worth it.
A neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem that has evolved from a Mizrachi pioneer project into a hub for young families, students, and one of the haredi world’s most prestigious yeshivot ....