Chanukah, the celebration of the Jews' victory over the Greeks and the rededication of the Temple, which begins on the 25th of Kislev, carries over into the first few days of Tevet. We celebrate by lighting Chanukah Menorah beginning with one candle and then adding one each night, culminating with eight candles on the final night of Chanukah. Traditional Chanukah foods include potato pancakes, donuts, and other things fried in oil.
The Tenth of Tevet is a fast day on which the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem during the First Temple Period. The siege lasted for three years and was the "beginning of the end" of the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews. In modern Israel the Tenth of Tevet has been designated as Yom haKaddish haKlali, the day on which we mourn those whose date or place of death is not known. Many people use this day to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
Women to Celebrate
Judith - The apocryphal Book of Judith is not included in the Hebrew Bible, but is mentioned in Jewish sources, some of which associate Judith with the holiday of Chanukah.
Serach bat Asher - The daughter of Asher, the son of Jacob and namesake of one of the 12 Tribes of Israel. Midrashic literature links Serach to the Exodus story and the rest of Jewish history. Serach offers a wonderful female character to incorporate into the Passover story. As her character is developed in the Midrashic sources, she also raises important questions about Jewish memory.
Dina - During Tevet we usually read the Torah portions toward the end of the Book of Genesis. One of the characters that we encounter is Dina, the daughter of Jacob and Leah. One of the most troubling stories in the Bible is the story of the rape of Dina by Shechem, and the subsequent reaction of Jacob and his other sons. This episode has recently been reexamined by Anita Diamant's popular book The Red Tent. To learn more about Dina visit archived D'var Torahs of Parshat Vayishlach.
source
No comments:
Post a Comment