Chanukah

Chanukah is a time of gratitude. It's also one of the best opportunities for soul-searching and self-assessment. Sitting by the flickering candles of holiness, we open a window to our souls. Let's look inside and ask ourselves why we're not happy...

The more we elevate Divine glory, the more lights of glory illuminate the earth. Rebbe Nachman teaches the act of bringing others closer to Hashem elevates Divine glory. People who gain enhanced proximity to Hashem therefore brighten the world. We conclude Torah 14 by learning that Chanukah is that very same aspect. Chanukah candles are lights of glory that illuminate the world.

Since Abraham, the first monotheist, the war against emuna has been never-ending. There are times in history when the vast majority of Jews succumbed to political correctness and assimilation at the expense of their faith. One such time was nearly 2300 years ago, when the Seleucid monarch Antiochus IV tried to Hellenize all of Judea. He nearly succeeded, but the Maccabees foiled his plan. Today's Emuna Hour scans the War of Emuna and tells the story of Chanukah. This story continues to this day.

Elija the Prophet went up to Heaven with horses of fire. Fire in Hebrew is "Aish", Aleph-Shin. This are also the first letters of "Emuna" and "Shalom" - emuna and peace carry us high also.

Today on Emuna Hour, we learn the 5th of the Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith and how this principle is the key for invoking all types of salvations far beyond a person's most rosy expectations. Today's lesson also looks at astrology and clairvoyance from an emuna perspective and shows how the miracle of Chanukah was the result of the 5th principle.

This week's Emuna News shows how the similar pattern of politics on both sides of the Atlantic is a clear sign of the way Hashem is preparing the world for the new era of Moshiach.

The age-old struggle against Hellenism has been going on ever since the beginning of our history, when Esau became the first assimilationist and nemesis of his brother, our forefather Jacob. If Jacob could defeat Esau's angel, as he did in this week's timely Torah portion, then he can beat Esau. The miracles are still with us; just three days ago, the Iran's sinister top nuclear scientist who devoted his life to eliminating Israel, Heaven forbid, got eliminated himself. And just yesterday, the commander of the Iranian Republican Guards in Syria was terminated too... 

Today's podcast has a double message, one for parents and one for children, including young adults and married children. Love is not about things, but about togetherness. In parenting, there is never enough love. A child doesn't become spoiled from an excess of love, but from a sense of entitlement, when he or she thinks that they are entitled to whatever they want. We learn what good parenting really is from our Father in Heaven...

There are two ways to wake a slumbering person: either you make a loud noise or you turn on bright lights. On Rosh Hashanah, Hashem awakens his spiritually-sleeping children with a blast of the Shofar, but on Chanukah, He turns on the brightest of lights...