Chanukah

Happy New Years from the Meaningful Life Center! Rabbi Jacobson brings hope to the world in 2022 on National TV.

Newsmax: The Soul of Chanukah with Rabbi Simon Jacobson

Happy Chanukah from the Meaningful Life Center! Rabbi Jacobson shares how the universal message of Chanukah can be celebrated by everyone on National TV.

The Physics of Chanukah: Learn How to Shine

Video •MLC TV • 2 Comments

Discover how the properties of light, so powerfully reflected in the Chanukah flames, teach us the essence of who we are and who were meant to be: Transparent channels of a higher reality.

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel: What Is the Kabbalistic Meaning of the Dreidel?

Video •MLC TV • 2 Comments

Learn how to master the “spin” of life, by identifying the four skills necessary in steering your life voyage toward its destiny.

Our Responsibility Is to Shine

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We need to show up and radiate our true inner goodness — it is one of the best things to do for other people.

The Light Within the Dark

Discover how the festival of lights reveals for us secrets of our souls and how to tap into the deepest light of all, the light within the dark.

How to Free Your Inner Light

Chanukah above all is about finding your internal spark. Discover how to recognize and free your inner light.

Secret of Secrets

This Chanukah workshop will uncover the secrets of the secrets of your soul through the mystery of the pure Chanukah oil.

The Ninth Flame

Weekly Op-Ed • 17 Comments

In pits of of Auschwitz a young boy and a gentleman light a ninth Chanukah candle, one so bright that it cannot be seen.

8 Steps to Building Your Inner Menorah

List • 1 Comment

Some menorahs are made of gold, some of silver, some of plastic. The most profound menorahs are fashioned of flesh and blood, of tears and sweat, of you and I. We are menorahs. It is time to rise and shine.

Listen To The Flames

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Listen to the flames. Listen to your soul. Listen to your children. Listen to others.

Listen To The Flames

Weekly Op-Ed • 1 Comment

Listen to the flames. Listen to your soul. Listen to your children. Listen to others.

Light

Weekly Op-Ed • 7 Comments

Many lessons can be gleaned from Parshat Behaalotcho, three of which I learned from my father: light, independence and perseverance.

A Lunch to Remember

Weekly Op-Ed • 7 Comments

Jacob’s battle with the angel imbues us with the power to fight and win our battles, until we reveal the ultimate light of personal and global redemption.

Kabbalah of Chanukah

Each of the seven candles represents one of the emotional characteristics listed in the Zohar (the main book of the Kabbalah).

Chanukah: Oil

Weekly Op-Ed • 5 Comments

Contrary to most other Jewish holidays, Chanukah focuses on the miracle of the oil as opposed to the battles involved. The spiritual dimensions of oil are discussed in light of this.

Rabbi Dovid of Tolna’s Chanukah Question

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Do we rise up to G-d, or does G-d descend to us? On Chanukah G-d descends to us an expression of G-d’s great love for His people.

Chanukah: An American Holiday

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Both the American Revolution and Chanukah’s message of freedom and transcendence is as relevant today as it was two millenniums and two centuries ago.

Chanukah celebrates what?

The word “Chanukah” comes from the word chinuch, which means “initiation.” Chanukah celebrates the renewal of the service in the Holy Temple after it was liberated from the Greek defiler, purified, and rededicated as the seat of G-d’s manifest presence in our world.

The Missing Festival

Other than a few parenthetical references, the Mishnah makes no mention of the story and laws of Chanukah. This explains why.

The Shamash

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Still the shammash doesn’t count. An imparter of light to others, he never attains the status of a Chanukah light in his own right.

The Mudswamps of Hella

The Rebbe expounds on Channukah: The more you fight it, the deeper you sink, your every move counteracted by this noxious blend of water and soil….

Oil and Wine

Chanukah is commemorated with oil. On Purim we celebrate with wine.

Menorah Meditations

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Exercises based on the article “Lighting Instructions”, discussing 3 lessons learned from the menorah in the Holy Temple discussed in Parshat Behalotcha.

Mikeitz: Fanning the Flames

The Unplugged version of Samech Vov asks the relevant question: How does one’s fire remain when the inspiration begins to dim?

Forbidden Piety

Ultimately, we must recognize and utilize the fact that the Torah is the only source of life and well-being for the Jew, both spiritually and physically.

Fire and Earth

Through defining the Halachic term of an earthen vessel, we learn two important factors in serving G-d appropriately: Humility and Passion.

Listen to the Flames: The Soul of the Menorah

These elements of Chanukah – the eight flickering flames, the miracle of the oil, the light shining into the dark street – beckon us to connect to the power of our soul. Our soul rises like a flame toward that which transcends itself, not only repelling darkness as is the nature of all light, but transforming the darkness into light.

Shopping: The Spiritual Shopper’s Guide to the Universe

Essays •List • 1 Comment

As we look for that perfect Holiday gift, or just for a good deal in general, let’s bring along some of the following spiritual shopping tools in our totes.

Bringing Light to the Darkest Places

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A miracle may mean the hope that within the deepest darkness there’s light. Chanukah is that message.

Light Reading: The Story of Light

I am watching the candles; the candles are watching me. I listen to their story; they listen to mine. Their warmth is my warmth; their light is my light; their story is my story – it is the story of light.

The Purpose of Chanukah Lights

This is the quintessential light of Torah: light as an end in itself; light as light is the purpose of Chanukah lights.

Chanukah and the Supremacy of Soul Over Body

Chanukah teaches us that there is a level of supremacy of soul over body that is so absolute that the body is virtually invisible.

The Body and Soul of Light

The wave/particle nature of light – like everything in existence – has a body and a soul.

The Hellenist Coachman

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It was not the Torah per se that Hellenic regime wished to uproot from the people of Israel, but Your Torah.

The Fifth Night: A Modern Chanukah Miracle

Stories • 1 Comment

A modern Chanukah miracle story, from Russian political prisoners.

Chanukah: A Journey by Candlelight

Shorts • 2 Comments

See the candle and how she doth dance. Shy first steps before she takes the chance.

A Chanukah Poem: Listen to the Candles

A poem: listen to the Chanukah candles/the story is yours and mine.

Chanukah Remnants

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The Karliner Rebbe’s menorah started a small fire which left burn-marks on one of the walls of his home. Rabbi Shlomo was overjoyed: a residue of Chanukah would now linger on until its lights would be again kindled next year!

Accumulating Lights: The Laws of Chanukah

Nowhere is the supremacy of the Hillelian view more emphasized than in the debate on Chanukah, where the very name of the festival, and the name given to its final day, proclaim that “the law follows the House of Hillel.” For Chanukah is the festival that, more than any other, underscores the human dynamic in Torah.

Addition of Candles on Chanukah

On the first night we kindle one candle, on the second two, and so on until the eighth night–when all eight candles shine forth.

The Physics of Chanukah: Nature of Light – Part 1