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For many, the message of Hanukkah is that miracles really do happen and that they can happen for us. This story, found in the Babylonian Talmud, recounts how upon entering the newly liberated Temple in Jerusalem, the Hasmonean soldiers found only a tiny vase containing enough oil to light the Menorah for a single day.…

New House Minority Whip, Eric Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in the House, spoke tellingly with US News and World Report’s Dan Gilgoff. Cantor’s comments are intriguing, especially those about the role of Judaism in his politics, the importance Jewish Republicans and his definition of support for Israel. Noting that Jewishness is important to him,…

Yesterday’ post told the story of Hanukkah as one of liberation. The story of Hanukkah, is also told as one of civil war between Jews living in the land of Israel, some so-called “traditionalists” and others “assimilationists” who wanted to follow the ways of their gentile neighbors. According to this story, which includes miraculous intervention…

Hanukkah is a story of many stories. In each of them we see how specific generations of Jews, or those with different spiritual or communal needs addressed the challenges they faced. In honor of those many stories, Windows and Doors will celebrate each day of Hanukkah by sharing a new Hanukkah story. Some will be…

The comments to yesterday’s post supporting President-elect Obama’s choice of Rev. Rick Warren to offer the inaugural invocation have been fascinating. Some go so far as to suggest that my position is a function of my being a Jew. A commenter identified as Rob the Rev writes: “Gee Rabbi, would you be so happy about…

For more than twenty centuries Hanukkah has celebrated the triumph of purpose and hope over fear and despair. In these troubled times, times of economic uncertainty and expanding security threats, maintaining that ancient perspective is more important than ever. From the Maccabees’ decision to fight on the Sabbath, to a rabbinic Judaism that even the…

Whether one is a fan of the next President or not, any fan of faith should be cheered by President-elect Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to offer the inaugural invocation. Once again the President-elect shows that he will confound ideologues time after time. And especially in matter of faith and politics, nothing could be more…

Hannukah is about many things. The story is about a tiny amount of oil that burned for eight days instead of only one. It’s about the unexpected victory of a small army over one much more powerful. It’s about finding freedom in a time of oppression. And it’s about our ability to accomplish heroic things…

We are all effected when 50 billion dollars vanishes from the economy in an instant as it did with the unraveling of Bernard Madoff’s gigantic Ponzi scheme which masqueraded as a legitimate investment. Trickledown economics may not work to our benefit, but it sure works in reverse. We all feel the ramifications of this kind…

The answer to the first question, at least, seems obvious to most of us. But as this story by AP writer Jesse Washington demonstrates, it’s a question that won’t go away. Perhaps that’s a good thing too. Why? Because definitions matter. In a world where we are told that definitions are unimportant or that “labeling…
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