We are now in the Hebrew month of Kislev, with the light-filled holiday of Hanukkah soon approaching. Did you learn about Kislev and Hanukkah in kindergarten? Because everything we learned then still holds true today! Here are a few points:
Kislev is a month in which the light defeated the darkness.
It is a month that highlights the struggle between the forces of good and evil. The side that will ultimately emerge victorious is not the stronger one, but the one that represents the truth. All our enemies will soon find themselves in the “dustbin of history.”
Kislev is a month of military as well as spiritual strength.
There are times when we need to maintain our courage over an extended period, making it difficult to keep up the momentum. But the month of Kislev reminds us that we must continually grow as we move forward. In Hebrew, this is called “mosif v’holeich,” referring to the fact that each day of Hanukkah, we add another candle until the entire menorah shines with all eight Hanukkah candles. Nevertheless, each day has its own light. Similarly, if we manage to carry on our daily routine during these challenging days, we will see success in each day.
Finally, this is a month of miracles, prayers, and salvation. History has taught us that anything can happen, and we can be surprised by something good we never anticipated. A small container of oil miraculously provided enough oil for eight days, and in the end, the light was greater than we could have ever imagined.
May we see the miracles of those days recurring in our times, God willing, very soon.
Higher!
Sheryl Sandberg addressed the Jewish leaders gathered at the General Assembly in Washington, DC, with a simple yet profound experiment. “Everyone, raise your hand as high as you can,” she instructed.
As the audience complied, she added, “Now, raise it an inch higher.” Remarkably, each person managed to lift their hand even further. “See that?” she said. “When we think we’ve done all we can, we realize we can do more—and we do. And we have!”
Sandberg’s message reflects the resilience and determination unfolding among Jews worldwide in the wake of recent tragedies. This collective awakening has even been given a name: “The Jews of October 8th”—those who rose anew the day after.
A billionaire and former COO of Meta, Sandberg also spearheaded the production of Screams Before Silence, a film documenting Hamas’ atrocities against women on October 7th. On stage, she described her shock at the lack of response from women’s organizations and the global community. "The silence was deafening," she said on stage. "All the work we did together for years for women, it was as if none of that had ever happened."
The events of that Simchat Torah fundamentally changed her, but in a profoundly positive way. “In the past, people would ask me: Are you a Jewish-American or an American-Jew? Which part of your identity comes first? Since October 7th, I sit here as a different person. Today, being Jewish is as central to my identity as anything else. I sit here as a proud Zionist and a proud Jew, in a way I couldn’t have imagined a year and a half ago.”
Sandberg urged the audience to focus not solely on antisemitism or anti-Israel sentiment, but on the strength and beauty of Jewish identity. Quoting journalist Bari Weiss, she emphasized: “Our identity as Jews has to be more rooted in Sinai than in Auschwitz. That’s true, because being Jewish is a wonderful thing—a tradition of charity, of caring for others, of knowledge, of study, of family, and of community.”
She shared a personal story: “Last January, I asked my daughter what she wanted for her birthday. She wasn’t particularly affiliated but she said she wanted a Jewish Star, and she’s worn it every day since then. So have I, and so have my two other daughters. My middle daughter is president of the Jewish affinity club in her school. She wasn’t a member a year and a half ago! I am born again, and that has had some beautiful moments. I am part of this community in a different way.”
Will October 7th be remembered not only as a day of unspeakable tragedy but also as a turning point—a day of global Jewish awakening? Can we all raise our hands just a little higher? Thank you, Sheryl, for inspiring us to try.
Bringing Torah to Bezalel
Last week I received a message about a Torah scroll dedication ceremony that took place at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. This was a notable occasion, since it was the first Torah scroll ever brought to this prestigious college. Established back in 1906, Bezalel once prided itself on its left-leaning, anti-religious agenda. Today, that is slowly changing.
The new Torah scroll represented a joint effort: The curtain for the ark housing the Torah was designed by Bezalel students; the Torah mantle was donated by the family of fallen soldier St. Sgt. Shilo Amir; and the Torah scroll itself was a gift from Chabad on Campus. This particular scroll was restored after being damaged during the Simchat Torah massacre in one of the Gaza border communities.
“In a beautiful moment of unity, we all came together to write the final letters of the Torah scroll,” wrote the Bezalel student. “It’s fitting that Bezalel, the academy’s namesake, was the artisan who built the Tabernacle for the Israelites in the desert.”
The Woman’s Role
This week’s parasha contains one of the most difficult verses in the Torah. During her painful years of being childless, Rachel lashes out at Jacob: “Give me children, and if not, I am dead.”
Commentators have given various explanations for this emotionally charged exchange between Rachel and Jacob. Six hundred years ago, Spanish Rabbi Isaac Arama wrote that every woman has two purposes in life. The first is to give birth to and bring up children and the other is “to be educated in wisdom and piety.” Rabbi Arama wrote that Rachel’s words were misplaced because she only focused on one of her missions but ignored the second one: to study and become educated, to learn Torah and do good deeds. That is also an integral part of a woman’s mission.
Professor Nechama Leibowitz quotes Rabbi Arama’s explanation in her books and explains how fundamentally important it is. She writes that Rachel is fleeing from fulfilling part of her mission; Rachel did not understand that she had additional functions in life beyond giving birth. Later in the parasha, we are told that Rachel gave birth to Joseph and then to Benjamin.
We can only contemplate what Professor Leibowitz herself thought of what she had written. She was highly successful in being “educated in wisdom and piety” but never merited to give birth.
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin, Janine Muller Sherr.
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