B"H
Tuesday, Kislev 30, 5785 / December 31, 2024
Happy sixth day of Chanukah. Happy Rosh Chodesh.
One of the lessons of Chanukah is that a person must keep on going up and up in matters of holiness, goodness and kindness. This is expressed by the amount of candles we light each night of Chanukah. On the first night we kindle one candle, on the second night two candles. Each night of Chanukah we ADD an additional light, until all eight lights are lit. What was good enough yesterday is not enough today and what is enough today is not enough tomorrow. If we stay in one place then we are regressing.
Another lesson from the Chanukah lights is that we light the Chanukah candles by the door or window, to bring this important message to the world at large. It is our duty to be a light unto the nations to enlighten the world with the lights of mitzvot and good deeds. Good deeds bring light to the world. Thus, each additional candle represents additional good deeds which we perform.
Q. What is the origin of the Dreidel?
A. The Greek-Syrians and their Hellenistic sympathizers prohibited Jews from performing many mitzvot, including teaching Torah to Jewish children. Any teacher or child caught learning Torah was severely punished. However, the Jewish teachers and students devised a way around this ban. They would gather to study and when the one on the lookout would spot a Greek soldier he would warn them. The children would hide their books and begin playing with the Dreidel.
Q. What is the significance of the four Hebrew letters on the Driedel; Nun, Gimel, Hay, Shin?
A. The four letters on the Dreidel stand for: "Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham" - "A great miracle happened there." These are the four letters on the Dreidels used in the Diaspora – “there” referring to Israel.
In Israel, the letter "Shin" (which stands for “there”) is substituted with the letter "Pay." It stands for the Hebrew word "Poh", "Here" ("A great miracle happened here"), for the miracle took place in Israel. To honor the self-sacrifice of these young Jewish students and to encourage our children to study Torah, we distribute "Chanukah Gelt" (“Chanukah money”) to our children, so they too, will follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and make every effort to excel in the study of Torah.
On the lighter side: Rabbi Gershon Henech Leiner of Radzin once developed a bad toothache on Chanukah and the dentist had to pull the tooth. The rabbi wanted to pay the dentist, but he refused to accept, saying, "It's a custom to give the Rabbi a Chanukah Gift, so let this be my Chanukah gift."
"I'll accept it on the condition that you won't tell anybody about this," answered Rabbi Gershon Henech in jest. "I'm afraid that if people find out they, too, will want to give me the same gift…"
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY, HAPPY ROSH CHODESH
& HAPPH CHANUKAH
UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW