Hanukkah

R. Shimshon Nadel explores the connection between the Hasmonean dynasty and the modern-day State of Israel.

Does halakhah have something to say about the subjectivity of aesthetic experience? Yosie Levine investigates the case of fashioning a replica Temple Menorah as adjudicated in the eighteenth century and what it can tell us about halachic thinking about art and aesthetics.

Zach Truboff draws upon the thought of Rav Kook and Rav Shagar to explore the themes of light and darkness and their application to Hanukkah.

Malka Simkovich on the Hasmonean victories and the truth behind the Hanukkah miracle.

Dr. Devora Steinmetz offers a meditation on the significance of Hanukkah and darkness.

Yaakov Jaffe advocates adding a song to those sung while lighting Hanukkah candles.

In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Aton Holzer sheds light on the hidden roots of Hanukkah–exploring the political and theological meaning of the holiday from the Second Temple period through the Talmud.

In his Yiddish poem "Hanukkah" (1932), Avrom Liessen poignantly recalled his early experience of the holiday. Dov Greenwood's vivid translation transports us into that wondrous world.

Shmuel Klitsner's insider perspectives on making a Hanukkah classic.

Countless explanations have been offered to explain the debate between Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai as to whether we light the Hanukkah candles in ascending or descending order. Yet remarkably, Hannah Abrams manages to offer a strikingly novel reading of this debate. Her analysis is well worth the read.