Tenth of Tevet

This fast commemorates the beginning of the end of the First Temple.

By Dr. Guy Miron for MyJewishLearning.com    

The fast day of the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet symbolizes the first of a series of events which led to the destruction of the First Temple: the beginning of the siege of the Babylonians on Jerusalem, the capital city of Judea, as the Book of Kings relates:

“Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And in the ninth year of his reign, on the 10th day of the 10th month Nebuchadnezzar moved against Jerusalem with his whole army. He besieged it; and they built towers against it all around. The city continued in a state of siege until the 11th year of King Zedekiah”  (Kings II, 25 verse 1-2).

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Gad Elbaz’s Heartfelt Plea to Our Father in Heaven

From IsraelVideoNetwork

Living at a time when bad news comes all too often from Israel and senseless deaths have left so many traumatized and grieving, Jews worldwide have been shaken to the core and struggle to comprehend the unthinkable violence and bloodshed that have snuffed out so many promising lives. Yet even during difficult times we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that our Father in heaven loves us and await our cries for his compassion.

In this all new music video titled Avinu, Gad Elbaz eloquently and poignantly gives voice to the plea that is in all of our hearts, as we ask for divine protection and the peace that continues to elude us. Avinu is a moving musical prayer whose words echo our innermost thoughts as we yearn for an end to the horrific turbulence whose icy grip has made fear and worry our constant companions.

Technion breaks ground on first Israeli university in China

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI for JPost.com

New university represents an historic collaboration between the Israel Institute of Technology and Shantou University in China.

The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology laid a cornerstone on Wednesday for the first Israeli University in China - The Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) in Shantou, in the Guangdong province in southeastern China.

The new university represents an historic collaboration between the Technion and Shantou University in China, and was made possible with the support of the Governor of Guangdong Province, Shantou Municipality and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, which promotes education and healthcare initiatives.

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The Secret Jewish History of 'Star Wars'

Seth Rogovoy for The Jewish Daily Forward   
In a 2012 interview, “Star Wars” creator George Lucas made the feeble claim that the release of another episode in his now-38-year-old sci-fi franchise is “not a religious event. I hate to tell people that. It’s a movie, just a movie.” Needless to say, such a remark merely fans the flames of devotion accorded to one of Hollywood’s all-time most popular series, whose every new release sparks a fanatical response of such zealotry that any self-respecting sociologist could only describe it as “religious” in nature.

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Itzhak Perlman named winner of 2016 Genesis Prize

From JTA

The 70-year-old violin virtuoso joins Michael Bloomberg and Michael Douglas as recipients of the annual $1 million prize that has been dubbed the “Jewish Nobel."

Mazal tov!

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From fencing champ to beauty queen: Meet the reigning Miss Israel

 JPost.com

19-year-old Avigail Alfatov from Acre will represent Israel in this year's Miss Universe Pageant.

Avigail Alfatov eats her pizza upside down and has funny hiccups. Her favorite food is falafel and she makes her face shine by wiping it with green tea bags.

How do we know this and, perhaps more important, why do we care?

Well, Alfatov is the reigning Miss Israel and is the country’s entry in the Miss Universe Pageant, which airs December 20 on Fox. These are just a few of the fun facts listed on her contestant profile.

She is also a national fencing champion, would love to meet Michael Jordan and has volunteered with Akim, an organization that works with people suffering from intellectual disabilities.

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It Is Time for a Rededication

Rev. Dan Schatz, HuffPost

There is something sacred in the act of lighting a flame. This time of year brings many
such rituals -- the Yule log, the Christmas candle and the Chanukah menorah, among others. Each, in its own way, reminds us that our lives need never be engulfed by darkness so long as we remember to kindle a light.

The Chanukah menorah dates to an ancient civil war, when after generations of strife within Judaism, the Maccabees went into the Temple, cleaned and purified its space, and lit the sacred lamp. There was only a small amount of fuel, but it lasted for eight days, remembered today in the Jewish Festival of Lights.

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The Secret History of “I Have a Little Dreidel”

By Jacob Kaplan for Jewniverse

You’ve probably never heard of the late Samuel E. Goldfarb, but chances are good that you’ve heard the music he’s written. In fact, you probably know one of his songs by heart: the Hannukah-season staple “I Have a Little Dreidel.”

Goldfarb came of age at the turn of the century in a Lower East Side tenement, in a large, music-oriented family, and cut his teeth performing Jewish liturgical songs at synagogues throughout Manhattan. He compiled two Jewish songbooks with his brother, Israel. Influenced by Tin Pan Alley, Goldfarb went on to write more secular ditties—enter the Dreidel Song, which was published in 1927.

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More Hanukkah Resources

Another fun video on this third day of Haukkah

 


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Knesset to Host First-ever Hanukkah Event With Reform, Conservative Jews

Other alternative candle lightings in Israel include Jewish-Muslim celebration in Tel Aviv and interfaith event at old Jerusalem train station.

By Judy Maltz  for Haaretz

A first-of-its-kind Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony that will include representatives of the Conservative and Reform movements in Israel will be held at the Knesset this week.

The ceremony, to be held Tuesday afternoon in one of the main halls of the parliament, is the initiative of MK Michal Rozin (Meretz), head of the Knesset lobby for pluralism and civil equality. Among the candle-lighters will be men, women, religious and secular activists, as well as Ethiopian Jewish clergy. The event is meant to coincide with International Human Rights day, which falls this week.

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Jake Owen’s Chanukah Album

With Hanukkah here, there's no more countdown, so we're bringing you fun things during Hanukkah.

For today, the first day of Hanukkah, and that other holiday two weeks away, we're getting tired of hearing 'holiday' music in every store too.  So if you love parodies, you'll really enjoy this.




For even more great ideas, visit our Hanukkah Holiday Spotlight Kit  

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On Hanukkah, the Latke Road Less Traveled

Part of our Countdown to Hanukkah series.

By Joan Nathan for The New York Times

Each year before Hanukkah, which begins this year at sunset on Sunday, I wonder why I labor so over potato latkes. I grate the potatoes and onions by hand, often skinning my knuckles. I squeeze out the water so the potatoes fry crisper and won’t discolor — but sometimes they still do.

I tasted a mashed potato latke recently and knew I had found my ideal: no grating, no squeezing, no discoloring. So easy that I wondered why cooks take the more difficult path.

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The Little Girl Who Wanted a Dog for Hanukkah

Part of our Countdown to Hanukkah series.

Her parents didn’t want her to have a dog. Or maybe they just didn’t want her to want something they didn’t want themselves.

By Simon Yisrael Feuerman for Tablet Magazine

Miriam wanted a dog for Hanukkah.

Her Hasidic-leaning family was up in arms. The father, a learned man in his 40s, asked: A hoont? A dog? What kind of 12 year-old girl wants a dog? For her pregnant mother, this request came from the very dark side of the moon. A dog! She said it as though the very word were a curse. In the Brooklyn courtyard where they lived, neighbors put in their two cents: A dog!? Who knows what comes from the mouths of children?

A rabbi was consulted.

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The Maccabeats - Latke Recipe - Hanukkah

Part of our Countdown to Hanukkah series.

 


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Honey-Rosemary Angel Food Cake

Part of our Countdown to Hanukkah series

From Better Homes and Gardens

A tradition on Hanukkah is to eat dairy (see yesterday's entry as to why). We think you'll enjoy this very different Hanukkah cake.  Let us know what you think

Ingredients

1/2 cup honey
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary
1 7 inch angel food cake

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On Hanukkah, Women As Role Models

Part of our Countdown to Hanukkah series

MyJewishLearning.com Staff Writer

Although Judah Maccabee and his father Matathias are the most famous characters in the Hanukkah story, the holiday also commemorates two Jewish women: Judith and Hannah.

The First Book of Maccabees and Second Book of Maccabees, which chronicle the story of the rebellion that inspired Hanukkah, were not included in the Bible, and are instead part of a body of texts known as the Apocrypha. Also in the Apocrypha is the Book of Judith, which tells how this heroine stopped the siege of Jerusalem by decapitating Holofernes, a major military leader for the enemy.

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Citing boycott, Jewish academic refuses to help Israeli child

Asked for info on horses, Dr. Marsha Levine tells schoolgirl she’ll answer ‘when there is justice for Palestinians’

By Times of Israel Staff

An  expert in the history of horses has rebuffed a request for information from an Israeli girl, citing as the reason for her refusal Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

Shachar Rabinovitch, 13, wrote recently to the British-American researcher Marsha Levine, who is Jewish, that she was doing a school project about horses and requested details about the domestication and breeding of early horse species.

According to a Facebook post by her mother, Shamir, on Monday, Levine replied: “I’ll answer your questions when there is peace and justice for Palestinians in Palestine.”

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Holiday Heartache – Helping Divorced Kids Get Through

Part of our Countdown to Hanukkah, this article deals with families of divorce and how to navigate the holidays.

Barbara Aiello for The Times of Israel

In  a few days Chanukah begins and then it’s time for Christmas. But for many children whose parents are divorced, the holiday season can be at best difficult and at worst traumatic.

Before I became a rabbi, I served on the board of a counseling service for divorced families. Later, when I became a rabbi, I became a support group leader for families and children who suffer through all the issues surrounding the breakup of a marriage. I’ve seen a lot.  From my own experience as a divorced parent to my work as a counselor, I’ve come to the conclusion that the most difficult divorces involve children and the areas that are most contentious surround child support, custody and visitation.  And each of these is exacerbated when the holidays roll around

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