A Message from Our Rabbi
December 1, 2021

The point of lighting the menorah isn’t to remember the miracle.
It’s to re-experience the miracle.
Every holiday is imbued with a spiritual reality. 
An energy that pours down from the heavens and pulsates throughout the earth.
Just waiting to be tapped into.
Pesach is the holiday of freedom. Simchat Torah is the holiday of joy.
And Chanukah? Chanukah is the holiday of miracles.
Every night, as we light these candles, we’re not commemorating a past event.
We are accessing the potential of the present.
Now is the time of wonder.

The fact is that nowadays we’re not seeing the miracle of the oil.
My candles do not burn for 8 nights straight. Every day, I must set them up anew.
Because we’ve reached a time in life when we can’t just sit around waiting for miracles to happen.
We’re expected to seek miracles. To create them.
In the time of the Holy Temple, there was a miracle in the fact that the menorah burned for 8 nights.
But what brought that about?
The miracle that the Jews searched for the oil in the first place.

When lighting the menorah, we start with 1. And make our way up.
Step by step.
Adding one candle more, every night.
Just one.
Because most of the time, living a miracle, being miraculous, is not huge.
It’s not flashy.
Most of the time, living a miracle just means taking another step at a time when taking another step seems impossible.
Most of the time, living a miracle just means knowing where you are.
And making one small shift forward.
[Rochel Spangenthal]

Friday evening, our Shabbat and Chanukah celebration begins with Tot Shabbat at 6:15 pm. Chanukah-themed outfits encouraged! Then, at 7:30 pm, we will gather for our Erev Shabbat service. Our Choir will join us and there will be a “sermon-in-song.” Bring your Chanukah menorah and candles for a communal candle lighting. And dress in your "Chanukah finest” (Chanukah attire encouraged whether you are with us in the Sanctuary or joining us through Zoom). (Shabbat siddur)

Shabbat morning, Cantor Harrison and I will lead a Healing Service (10:00 am, Zoom only) designed for those facing life’s circumstances who are seeking spiritual, emotional or physical healing, a sense of wholeness and peace, or who are supporting and caring for others. Grounded in Jewish prayer and ritual, the service will include moments of liturgy, song, meditation and learning to build a community of compassion, comfort and strength, as we all seek to access places of support and resilience. (service booklet)

And, Sunday morning at 11:30 am, join us for our outdoor Chanukah candle lighting (and latke pick up)! 

Just a reminder that proof of vaccination is now required for all adults entering the building for services, programs, and events.

Chag Sameach! Wishing you a very happy and bright Chanukah. 

Rabbi Jennifer L. Frenkel