Light Your Fire: What Does the Menorah Symbolize?

The Menorah stands for light, wisdom, and Divine inspiration. In this period of darkness, we welcome the approaching Festival of Lights and the timeless lessons of the Holy Menorah.

Originally, the Menorah was a seven-branched candelabra beaten out of a solid piece of gold that served as one of the sacred vessels in the Holy Temple. It stood in the southern part of the Temple and was lit every day by the High Priest. Only pure, fresh olive oil of the highest quality was suitable to light the Menorah.

As its unique design communicates, the Menorah endures as a symbol of Divine light spreading throughout the world. To this end, God commanded that the Menorah’s goblets be turned upside down on their stems, emphasizing the importance of spreading light to others. This design reflects the Menorah’s exact purpose in the Holy Temple, which was to spread the light of Godliness to the entire world.

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Hanukkah Kit

Where can you read all about the origins, history and different customs of celebrating Hanukkah?  From denominations of Reform to Orthodox to Interfaith?

Where can you find all the best videos about the holiday from the Lady Gaga of Hasidic Music to Woody Guthrie?

Where can you find the best recommended books for both children and adults?

And where can you find recipes for Cajun Potato Latkes, Coconut Latkes, Bimuelos, Torzelli and Kuku Sabzi?

You should check out Jvillage's Hanukkah Holiday Kit.  It has all this and so much more including crafts to make with your family, a guide to gifts including one-of-a-kind and personalized; music, DVDs, DIY menorahs and edible dreidels.

Check it out and have a Happy Hanukkah.



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Love and the Older Dad

By Lili Kalish Gersch for Raising Kvell

My father was 46-years-old when I was born. He already had two children in their early 20s, and had recently been through a bruising divorce. He raised my half-siblings through his own 20s and 30s, a time when he was building his career, buying his first house, and going to school part-time. Before he knew it, they were grown.

This happens to so many parents…so busy providing for our kids that we miss some of the magic of their childhoods. But how many of us actually have a chance to go back and do it all again? My dad did.

This time, he promised himself that he would be there to experience everything. As a kid this translated into Daddy and Me classes, frequent dinner dates, a built-in chauffeur for all my weekend enrichment activities, constant homework help, and much more. I took all of this for granted–it was the only thing I knew–but as a parent I now realize that he carved out an astounding amount of time to spend with only me.

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Hanukkah for Families

Eight days of fun.

By Sarah Gershman for MyJewishLearning.com

Hanukkah's proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday.

For those who try to make Hanukkah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Hanukkah was traditionally not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can, nonetheless offer many opportunities for fun and joyous celebration. Here are some suggestions for how you can make this Hanukkah memorable, while still staying true to the essential meaning of the holiday.

Bringing Light out of Darkness

There are many ways to make this year’s Hanukkah a real "Festival of Light." As Rabbi Arthur Waskow writes in his book, Seasons of Joy, “Hanukkah is the moment when light is born from darkness, hope from despair.” Historically, this was reflected in the unlikely victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks, in the oil that brought light for eight days instead of one, and in the very act of lighting candles during the darkest time of the year.

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My Adopted Son Wants to Be Christian–And I Need to Let Him

By Dr. Gary Matloff  for Raising Kvell


We were walking out to the car after Yom Kippur services when my son Matheus, 14 years old at the time, unexpectedly broke the silence and asked, with a tinge of exasperation in his voice, “Father, when can I go to church?”

It had only been a few months past our first anniversary since I’d adopted him and his younger brother from Brazil. Up until then, Matheus had mostly kept to himself any thoughts he might have had about his religious inclinations. His brother had decided that he wanted to become Jewish, abandoning his Christian roots barely nine months into our first year together—he could hardly wait to attend Hebrew school later that year.

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Reconsidering Jewish Day School

by Nina Badzin @NinaBadzin for JCJewfolk.com

Where to send our kids to elementary school is the conversation dominating parents of preschoolers. I’m sure this is true in many areas of the country, but in Minnesota where we have open enrollment, parents often discuss which schools they’re considering for their children.

“Open enrollment,” if you’re not familiar with the term, means if there’s space at a public school in any district, parents can apply to get spots for their children.

As a mom with three kids already at a Jewish day school and one still in preschool, I’ve been listening to these conversations for almost a decade. There are many legitimate factors to consider when choosing a school, but I often hear parents automatically eliminate day schools from the running for reasons that are not supported by the facts.

If you have never considered even looking at Jewish day school, let me try to put your local day school on the list of possibilities by eliminating a few of the most common misconceptions. (1) I want my kids to be exposed to more than Judaism and Jewish people. (2) We aren’t as Jewish as the other families at the school. (3) Private Jewish education is too expensive.

1. I want my kids to be exposed to more than Judaism and Jewish people.

Another way of saying this is, “I don’t want my kids to be sheltered.”

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I Care Less About Chores, More About Kindness

By Julie Levine for Raising Kvell


This summer, my son wore his bathing suit and swim shirt for five days in a row—he slept in his bathing suit, wore it swimming the next day, and to bed that night. He did this for about five different weeks throughout July and August.

My kids (13 and 11) don’t make their beds every morning. They don’t do their own laundry either. Or take out the garbage. Ditto for loading the dishes in the dishwasher. Sometimes I feel guilty that they don’t help out more around the house. Once in a while I’d like my son to put on a clean shirt and brush his hair. But truthfully, I don’t care that much.

Before you start thinking that my kids are spoiled, entitled or just plain slobs, and before you think that I’m an indulgent parent, let me tell you what I do care a great deal about—I care deeply that my kids are good citizens of the world. A great deal of my parenting energy is spent trying to raise children who will grow up to be mensches.

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