Stay connected to PAS and each other. Reflect on Hanukkah kavanot from clergy and staff or attend one of our virtual community events.
Hanukkah Concert
L’Chaim Ul’Shalom
HANUKKAH CONCERT: PEACE ALBUM RELEASE
Thu / Dec 17 / 7:00 pm
Cantor Brook and Cantor Schwartz
Livestream
Celebrate the eighth night of Hanukkah with music from our new album, L'Chaim Ul'Shalom, featuring Cantor Brook. Tune in for candle lighting and songs of the season. The album is sponsored by Danny Bernstein and family in loving memory of Vivian Bernstein.
20s & 30s
Light it Up!
A HANUKKAH COMEDY SHOW
Thu / Dec 10 / 7:00 pm
Zoom. Register for link.
Bring in a little more light and a lot of laughter this Hanukkah during an evening of comedy with the Bible Players (the creative minds behind drinking games like "Book of Maccabees or Game of Thrones?"). So dust off your menorah and pour a glass of your favorite beverage as we welcome the holiday with other 20s/30s at PAS.
Hanukkah Kavanot
God saw that the light was good (Tikkun Olam)
God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. – Genesis 1:4
Light and darkness were created on the same day – they exist in a duality. Where one encroaches, the other retreats. On Hanukkah, we celebrate light during the darkest time of year. We are commanded to shine our lights from a public-facing window to share their miracle with all. Perhaps the miracle is that we, human beings, are light creators. The ritual reminds us that we have the ability to drive away darkness with our actions and our spirit.
We find ourselves in a time of darkness and in a world with far too much darkness threatening to overwhelm us. As we light our candles tonight, remember that any candle has the ability to light up their surroundings, no matter how small their flame may be. Remember also that even the smallest flame can spread and grow. Small actions of justice and charity can ignite much larger change and illuminate the world.
– Rabbi Witkovsky
The Miracle of the First Night (Kehillah/Community)
Why is Hanukkah eight nights and not seven? After all, as the Talmud explains, the cruse of oil found by the Maccabees contained enough to last one day, which means that first day was to be expected. Only the subsequent days were miraculous, which would mean that our Hanukkah celebrations should be reduced to seven.
Of all the answers to this question, the one that I find most compelling is that the miracle of the first day is that the Maccabees bothered to kindle the candle at all. With the Temple in shambles and all hope lost, who could blame them if they had curled up and walked away? And yet, no matter the setback, they demonstrated the chutzpah to seek light in what was otherwise a dark and gloomy circumstance. By this telling, the miracle of the first candle is actually greater than the rest, for it demonstrates the Maccabees' faith not just in God, but in themselves.
As in those days, so too may it be in ours. May we find the faith within – kindling the light in the darkness, drop by drop, day by day, until the light of the menorah radiates brightly for all to behold.
— Rabbi Cosgrove
Pass the Candle (Tarbut/Reimagine)
When Moses stood before the Israelites in the desert, he instructed those who are hakham lev to construct the tabernacle. Beyond merely skilled workers, Moses calls upon those who are “wise of heart” – those who know how to connect the heartstrings to the brain cells and back to build something special.
This whole year, we ourselves have proven to be hakham lev by transforming the mundane into the extraordinary. We’ve fostered community through Zoom calls; created connection in distanced, masked gatherings; and found emotional touchpoints through a screen. Attuned to both our minds and our hearts, we have been constructing a sanctuary together.
One year ago, we rededicated ourselves to the value of tarbut (culture), how music and art can reimagine our Jewish experience. This year, as we reimagine where our Jewish journeys will take us, take comfort in the ways in which the arts have thrived here at PAS. For this Hanukkah season, the members of the PAS Youth Choir have remained hakham lev through singing and socializing online. Enjoy their newest virtual choir video, [link tk] in which they teach us how we should light the hanukkiyah – from left to right!
– Josh Rosenberg and Cantorial Intern Mira Davis
The Guiding Light of Torah (Limmud/Learning)
The flame of the Hanukkah candles frequently reminds us of the Maccabees’ heroic fight for political independence and religious freedom. Securing the Temple did not just entail ridding the city of warfare and strife, but also rebooting a sacred system. As much students as warriors, the Maccabees approach this historic battle with purpose and hopes of enacting the blueprint for the rededication of our holiest site that comes directly from the Torah itself. Years of learning prepared them for the moment when they could kindle the light anew.
In the words of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l, “To defend a country, you need an army. But to defend an identity, you need a school. Judaism is the religion of the book, not the sword.” The candles beckon us to not only fight for what we believe in, but to delve deeper into our beliefs every day.
- Rabbi Savenor
What Makes a Miracle? (Tzionut/Reaffirm)
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, writes about the miracle of Hanukkah and the discovery of the pure oil: “All that was left was the glint of internal faith that resides deep in the heart of the Israelite, likened to a small cruse of oil with the seal of the High Priest, which was not to be made impure by foreigners.”
For Rav Kook, the miracle of the oil is a metaphor for a larger miracle: That the ideas, values, and thoughts that are essential to Judaism have survived and continue to thrive.
Kook’s teaching transcends the holiday of Hanukkah. Perhaps this is why the story of the oil became the master story of Hanukkah. We can apply its lesson to any period of Jewish history. In our own time, when we continue to experience the miracle of the State of Israel, we think about the years of exile, defined by the faith that the Jewish people would endure and one day return home.
The spark is always there, waiting to be ignited.
– Rabbi Zuckerman
Peace in Punctuation (Tefillah)
It seems only fitting that we are preparing to release our latest album, L’Chayim Ul’Shalom: Songs of Life and Peace, this coming Thursday, punctuating the final night of Hanukkah. In Hebrew, it is no coincidence that we begin and end every interaction with the same word: shalom, peace. Peace is our prayer for each other in our comings and our goings, and no matter what happens in between, we know we are surrounded by this blessing.
Peace is incredibly dynamic. It can be joyful, quiet, and trusting. It can be full of longing. On Thursday, December 17, at 7:00 pm we invite you to let the music wash over you over our Livestream, and ask yourself, “Where do I find peace in this moment?”
Happy Hanukkah!
– Cantor Brook
Many candles, one mission (Reunite/Klal Yisrael)
The most famous pair in rabbinic history, Hillel and Shammai, disagreed about how to light Hanukkah candles. Hillel advocated for lighting one candle on the first light and then increasing the number every night, while Shammai claiming the opposite, starting with eight lights and subsequently decreasing the number. Though we know who won this battle, the Talmud explains that Shammai’s logic is valid, as well. In fact, the tradition says that when the Messiah comes, we will practice according to Shammai’s opinion!
Tonight, as we light seven candles according to Hillel’s method, let us keep Shammai in mind. Remember that our tradition recorded opposing opinions because it believes that we have much to learn from those who disagree with us. One day, we might even end up taking their sides. Being klal yisrael, a united people, does not mean that we never have deep-seated disagreements amongst us. Yet just as our rabbinic predecessors did, our task is to transform our arguments for the sake of Heaven, recognizing that we share a mission as am yisrael. No matter how many candles we light on a given night, “banu hoshieh l'garesh” – we came to drive away darkness.
– Rabbinic Intern Bedo
To Strike The Match (Remember/Zakhor)
Hanukkah is a time of remembrance, allowing the prism of history to shape our understanding of the world today. As we light the menorah one last time, both our words and our actions invoke the story of our people. We recall each of the small miracles that have brought us to this moment, from the courageous stand of the Maccabees two millennia ago to the acts of compassion and resilience that have held our community together through this difficult year. In the flickering light of the candles, we remember all those times that we have overcome incredible odds, just like the small cruse of oil that should have been spent in a single evening yet burned through eight whole nights.
However, the miracle wasn’t that the cruse of oil lasted well beyond its capacity – it was that someone had the audacity to believe that it could, igniting the spark that would illuminate those long, dark nights. From the time of the Maccabees to now, these stories remind us that we know how to create light even when faced with impossible darkness. The ability to bring about miracles is within each of us. Our task is to simply strike the match.
– Rabbi Philp