December 6, 2024
With the amount of daylight dwindling this season, I am becoming more keenly aware of how important it is to bring light into the world. As the Jewish calendar turns to the Hebrew month of Kislev, the month when we celebrate Hanukkah, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the darkness. We are reminded of the great Talmudic debate between Hillel and Shammai about the proper way to light the Hanukkah menorah. Rabbi Shammai suggests we should begin on the first night by lighting eight candles and then reduce the total candles by one each night. Rabbi Hillel, however, suggests the opposite: beginning with one candle and adding one each night, building the light until we reach eight. Rabbi Hillel’s method has been used for thousands of years because, as he teaches, we do not decrease in holiness; we increase it.
Just as we increase in holiness, we also strive to add light to a darkened world. This is especially challenging when shadows hang over the Jewish community, with antisemitism on the rise and coming ever closer to home. As you all know, we have spent much time working with local schools and school districts to focus on Holocaust education and build strategies to respond to antisemitism when it happens. While that work is continuing, it is also critical that we educate ourselves about antisemitism and what we can do when our kids encounter it in schools.
I am creating a workshop on Sunday, January 5th, from 10:30 AM – 12 PM, which will:
- Explore classic antisemitic tropes
- Understand the changing landscape of antisemitism vis-à-vis anti-Zionism
- Learn strategies for working with schools
- Create a personal toolkit with resources from the ADL and Project Shema focused on communicating with schools
This workshop will be geared more toward Middle School and High School students but is open to anyone in our congregation. Please see the flier below and RSVP.
Additionally, I am so grateful to everyone who wrote to me with congratulations on my selection as President-Elect of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. It is truly an honor to serve as your rabbi and be part of the Beth Tikvah family.
I am also sorry that we had to postpone our Scholar-in-Residence weekend. We are looking at new dates and hope to announce those shortly.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner