A Soulful Journey

Reb Bunim of Pesischa once asked: “Why do we not recite the blessings  of She’asa nisssim l’avoteinu  thanking God for miracles for our ancestors on Passover the way we do on Hanukkah? His answer was that Hanukkah resulted from military victories led by armies and the Jews were saved on Purim because Esther endangered her own life. Lest the salvation be attributed solely to human endeavor and sacrifice, we need to remember that ultimately God’s intervention led to the defeat of the Greeks and Haman. It was entirely the work of God the story as it unfolds in the Passover Haggadah does not refer to any human being. Look at our past and see the hand of God.

"A little light dispels much darkness." - Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

Anatoly Sharansky’s Hanukkah Menorah was confiscated in 1980 before the holiday was over.  So Sharansky began a hunger strike.  KGB Major Balabanov declared, “A camp is not a synagogue. We won’t permit Sharansky to pray here.  He will not have it returned to him.” Major Osin, the camp director, heard of Sharansky’s strike.  “Please stop,” he begged.  “In the future, no one will hinder you from praying.” “Give me back my menorah, as tonight is the last evening of Hanukkah.  Let me celebrate it now, and I shall end the hunger strike.” “What’s a menorah?”  “Candlesticks.” But as documents had been drawn up; confiscation had taken place, Osin could not be seen to back down. As I looked at this predator, sitting at an elegant polished table and wearing a benevolent smile, I was seized by an amusing idea.   “Listen,” I said, “I’m sure you have a menorah somewhere.  It’s very important to...

The man: " Rabbi, what is a Jew’s task in this world?" The rabbi: "A Jew is a lamp-lighter on the streets of the world. In olden days, there was a person in every town who would light the gas street lamps with a light he carried on the end of a long pole. On the street corners, the lamps sat, ready to be lit. A lamp-lighter has a pole with a flame supplied by the town. He knows that the fire is not his own and he goes around lighting the lamps on his route." The man: "But what if the lamp is in a desolate wilderness?" The rabbi: "Then, too, one must light it. Let it be noted that there is a wilderness and let the wilderness be shamed by the light." Not satisfied, the man asked: "But what if the lamp is in the middle of the sea?" to which the rabbi responded: "Then one must take off one’s clothes, jump into the water, and light it there!" "And   that   is the Jew’s mission?" asked the man. The rabbi thoug...

t seems fashionable these days to bring something new to the Passover Seder table and Seder plate. Well, I would like to weigh in on this with the suggestion for the  newest addition to the Seder plate, the Bay Leaf.” This would be a non-edible spice that would represent  freedom from ridicule ,  especially rabbinic ridicule. Let me explain, this was a story told to me by a friend who has been a very active participant in his synagogue (these days that seems so very hard to find). He attends the weekday minyanim and has been a volunteer cook for all the events throughout the year with those occasions being breakfasts for the  Sunday  and  Friday  minyanim, for Tu B’shevat Sedarim, monthly Shabbat dinners and the annual Chanukah gathering. This past December as this gentleman was preparing for the Chanukah event, he brought in from his home a food processor, which he kept at home, using only for synagogue events, respecting the kashrut of the synag...

A teacher was curious about how each of her students celebrated Christmas.  She called on young Patrick Murphy.  “Tell me, Patrick, what do you do at Christmas time?” she asked.  Patrick addressed the class: “Me and my 12 brothers and sisters go to midnight Mass and sing hymns, then we come home and put mince pies by the back door and hang up our stockings.  Then we go to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come with toys.”           “Very nice, Patrick,” the teacher said.  “Now, Jimmy Brown, what do you do at Christmas?”   “Me and my sister also go to Church with Mom and Dad and we sing carols, and after we get home we put cookies and milk by the chimney and we hang up our stockings. We hardly sleep, waiting for Santa Claus to bring our toys,” Jimmy replied.  “That's also very nice Jimmy,” she said.      Realizing there was a Jewish boy in the class and not wanting to leav...