Hannukah, unlike many other Jewish holidays, is pretty much a one-pony show. There is no Seder, no required festive meal, and no forbidden activities (melakhot). Along with a handful of liturgical additions - the primary ritual of Hannukah is lighting the candles. Read more...

We read Parashat Mi’Ketz during the celebration of Hanukkah, the commemoration of the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago. In history, this period marks the assertion of Jewish national and religious freedom, a period of quasi independence that made it possible for Judaism to survive the onslaught of Roman rule in the centuries ahead. Spiritually, the image of a Temple rededicated invites introspection about our own internal rededication to our own highest ideals, to correlate our ways with God’s aspirations and mandate. Read more...

When we speak of dreams, we mean two different things. On the most literal level, dreams are what we do in our sleep. Psychologists tell us that our dreams reflect the workings of our unconscious mind, sorting through our fears, wishes, and desires, attempting to resolve whatever was not clarified in the day that just passed. Our dreams often take the forms of weird narratives and juxtaposed images, all of which seem bizarre to our waking mind, but which adhere to a logic of their own. Read more...

One of the abiding truths of human nature is that we delight in discovering the faults of each other, and we hate to reveal our own shortcomings. While we know in our hearts that “to err is human,” none of us likes to acknowledge our own humanity, our own propensity to make mistakes, even to sin. Read more...

In antiquity, just as with the modern age, dreams occupied a prominent place in the human psyche and imagination.  The very word "dream" conveys a dual content: fantasies during sleep and our aspirations for the future.   Which are they?  Do dreams simply reveal the imagination of the mind liberated by the welcome presence of sleep?  Or, do drams clarify our own intentions, thereby illuminating our hopes and ideals for our relationships, careers, and activities in the time yet to come?   Read more...