In Those Days at This Time - Chanukah Redux

 Our Chanukah Message, and for this year, and an announcement of new classes at Bnai Torah

Boruch Hashem!

“In those days at this time”

So goes the Refrain of Al Hanisim – the additional prayer we add to the Amidah and the Grace after Meals During Chanukah and Purim.

Chanukah is about the attempt to destroy Judaism and co-opt the Jews of the Land of Israel into the idolatrous, immoral, hedonistic and polytheistic Hellenist world.

Our enemies, the Seleucids -with an empire centered in Syria, sought to use both the blandishments of societal acceptance and when that failed, force of arms and persecution to coerce us towards this goal.

They desired that we bow to the prevailing values and beliefs held by the whole world -except for us Jews. In effect they said: “How can it be that you have the Chutzpah to believe the whole world is wrong and you are right?”. We responded that – “This is indeed the case, which is why empires, kingdoms, values and beliefs come and go, but our nation, our souls, our values and our beliefs are eternal – G-d gave us his immutable truth in His Torah -so indeed, you all are wrong and we are right, and in the fullness of time you will recognize this”

With these sentiments – expressed by Matityahu’s cry of “ – "מי להשם אלי “Whoever is with G-d gather around me” we began what seemed to be a hopeless battle.

But: As the Chanukah Al Hanisim prayer says:

“You, in your enormous mercy, stood up for them in their time of great need, fought their battles, adjudicated their case, and wreaked vengeance upon their oppressors.

You 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, and the degenerates into the hands of those who cling to your Torah. You made for yourself a great and holy name in your world, and performed a great salvation and miracle for your people Israel, as you do today”

In a different way and in a different world we come back to this today. Just as then, those who seek to divide the Jewish people from the Land G-d gave them, seek to do so by murder, terror, and calumny. So too, we stood up and fought in G-d’s name. Yes, as the Maccabees took severe losses, so have we, unfortunately. But as they prevailed and renewed Jewish observance and sovereignty, so shall we-with G-d’s help.

Our brothers and sisters in Israel are fighting G-d’s wars. We can help by supporting them in every way -including strengthening our commitment to our own Judaism - which encompasses G-d, the Jewish People, the Torah, and the Land of Israel.

In that vein, join us for two new Torah study ventures

1. Mondays: (Starting Mid- December) The Great Books of Judaism – we are not just “The People of the Book” Rather, we are “The People of the Books”. Join us to explore the amazing and diverse richness of the texts -From the Tanach to the Talmud to the Tur to contemporary Teshuvot (Responsa dealing with the issues of the moment) – on whose pages are written the ongoing story of who we are and why we are and what we can be

2. Thursdays: A Deep Dive into the weekly Torah portion – we will look at one theme each week and dive into the depths of the sea of Judaic knowledge -exploring the multitude of approaches created over thousands of years