All This And Chanukah Too

I had a parsha post I wanted to finish, looks like it won't be happening pre-Shabbos. I have a Chanukah quiz I wanted to re-post, ditto. I have so much to vent and don't know how to choose or quite why I would choose to share anything at all here. And yet.

A neighbor of mine just told me in the grocery that he doesn't have a Chanukah gift for his wife. I told him he could peruse some new books I got a book fair but he seemed set on running to try to get something that feels more appropriate. I just got home a moment ago myself, and there's a lot to do. And yet.

I've been told by a colleague and friend that I've worked with for the last ten years that I bring light to the work place. I believe that she truly feels that way. One year I shared a class room with a Spanish teacher who said that she felt good karma when she entered the room. I believed her too. There's nothing like when someone compliments you and it seems sincere.

I like the idea of light. Every day we thank G-d for creating it. Every day we try to bring a little more of it to the world. When Rabbi Abraham Twerski was born his mother started lighting one more candle for Shabbos. And she told him later that it was because when he was born more light came into the world.

In potential we all have our own share in this world, just like we all have a share in the world to come. And our job is to bring some other worldly light into this world in the way only we can. Once a week we light candles. Once a year we light candles for a week. Light is a major force in Judaism.

I want to be a light creator, not a light blocker. Why does it sometimes feel like a fight? Both from inside and outside the light doesn't always seems to be permitted to readily flow. Part of Chanukah's prayers is that our sparks should be fanned into flames, our hopes should win out over our fears, our Torah should shine brighter than anything.

Every week Erev Shabbos is a scramble for a little light as darkness encroaches. On Chanukah that happens repeatedly over eight dusks. And when it's Friday night and Chanukah then the stakes go really high, the pressure and the pay off are greater.

And that's where I find myself at this moment...

Sometimes it's amazing that we forget basics. Anne Roiphe once got herself in trouble by publicly displaying, in the New York Times, her ignorance of the history of Chanukah. After that she re-connected a bit with her roots.

Here's a little quiz I wrote on the basics of Chanukah. For the answers click here.

1. In what year (BCE) did the Macabeees rededicate the Great Temple of Jerusalem (Beit HaMikdash)?
2. What does the word Chanukah literally mean?
3. Which people did the Macabees reclaim the Beit HaMikdash from?
4. a. In the time of Alexander the Great, Israel was considered part of what country? b. Israel was considered a province of what empire?
5. What was the job of the provincial governors?
6. What name is given to Greek culture?
7. What type of god or gods did the Greeks worship?
8. Where were Greek laws written and how were these laws decided?
9. a. How did Alexander force people to accept his beliefs? b. How did his immediate successors do this?
10. What was Theos Epiphanes’ real name and what does this chosen name mean?
11. What policy did he introduce ?
12. Who was worshipped in the Beit HaMikdash under the rein of Antiochus IV?
13. What two things served as tests of political loyalty?
14. Give four examples of things that were prohibited and punishable by death?
15. In what town did the rebellion against Antiachus begin?
16. a. Where was this town? b. Near what modern town?
17. What event sparked the revolution?

The sky is turning pink.

My face is probably flushed.

It's getting close to Shabbos.

I'm almost dressed.

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Darkness is descending.

The sun is is quickly setting.

It's getting late fast.

I am still prepping.

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It's a miraculous occasion.

All this and Chanukah too.

I am reminded of being a child.

I want to re-light my youth.