The month of December is always filled with musical events, Hanukkah candle lighting, and congregational celebrations.
On Shabbat evening, December 6, our superb volunteer adult choir, Shir KI, our professional singers, and choristers from the Old York Road corridor presented an outstanding evening of Israeli songs drawn from different periods of Zionist history. We welcomed 14 young people from the Commonwealth Choir. Our music demonstrated the linkage of G-d, to Am Yisrael/the people and nation of Israel, to Eretz Yisrael/the Land of Israel, and to Jerusalem. An enthusiastic congregation greeted us with high energy and appreciation. We began by singing Shir HaEmek, The song of the Valley of Jezreel, from the 1940’s. Our beloved Cantor Amy Levy sang “Samachti B’omrim Li,” a setting of Psalm 121 by Cantor Charles Osborne, celebrating our rejoicing at the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Our choir sang Acheinu, the Prayer for the Safe Return of the Hostages. Everyone joined in as we sang Yerushalayim Shel Zahav/Jerusalem of Gold, and Hallelujah, from the Eurovision 1979 song contest. All left touched and inspired by the joy of the Israeli songs.
I want to extend my personal congratulations to our 50 singers, our professional quartet, and our new accompanist Irina Bakis, who played with great energy and beauty.
We continue to read very eventful and dramatic portions in the weekly Torah readings. This Shabbat, we read the portion, VAYISHLACH/AND JACOB SENT…, the eighth portion in B’reishit/Genesis. After a twenty-year separation, Jacob and his older brother Esau are ready to reunite! As young men, Jacob and his mother, Rebecca, had tricked Isaac into bestowing the birthright blessing on him, rather than on Esau, to whom, as the first born, he was entitled. Jacob had worked for his father-in-law, Laban, for 14 years, and was tricked into marrying Leah. He was ultimately permitted to marry his beloved Rachel only after agreeing to work for Laban for seven more years.
He prospers as his family grows. Now he is told to return to his homeland to reunite with Esau, and he is scared! He divides his herds into two groups, placing his 11 sons and two wives behind the herd, and he goes to meet his brother!
Jacob now recites a prayer, a formal statement of words to G-d Almighty, as he readies himself for this reunion. “O G-d of my father Abraham and G-d of my father Isaac…Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; else I fear, he may come and strike me down, mothers and children alike. Yet You (G-d) have said, ‘I will deal bountifully with you and make your offspring as the sands of the sea, which are too numerous to count.’” (10:10-13). This text is only the second prayer in the Torah, to this moment! The opening phrase is the source of the prayer that will eventually become HaT’filah, the Standing Prayer/Amidah that we now recite daily and on Shabbat evenings and mornings. Of course, what is missing is the name of Jacob, who is not yet considered to be the third forefather of the Jewish people!
In Chapter 32 we learn about an unusual interaction. After crossing the Jabbok River, Jacob brings his huge entourage of animals and his family with him until they are all safe. He spends the night alone, but an unknown man attacks him. Jacob and his enemy wrestle all night long. His assailant is unable to subdue Jacob, but does permanent damage to his hip. He demands that Jacob release him. Jacob agrees only after this mysterious foe blesses him. He states, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and you have prevailed.” (32:29) This is the very first time that the name Israel appears in the Torah!
The brothers reunite, and the reunion of Israel and Esau is peaceful! They kiss and weep for joy. Jacob presents gifts to his brother, who reluctantly accepts them.
Rachel dies and is buried along the road to Bethlehem. Her tomb is a major site for Jews to this day. Isaac dies at age 180 years. He is buried by both his sons Esau and Jacob/Israel in the Machpelah Cave.
We have two weeks to prepare for Hanukkah! Let us review the traditional steps to light the candles:
We place the Hanukkiah/Menorah in the window to let our neighbors know that we are celebrating the Hanukkah miracle for all to see! According to the Talmud, there is only one function of the candles: PIRSUMEI NISSA/to publicize the miracle! After dark, we stand in front of the Hanukkiah.
- We place the candles from the right side of the Hanukkiah, placing the first candle in the extreme right receptacle and the Shammash in the elevated and separated receptacle.
- We light the Shammash candle. We sing the first blessing. We sing the second blessing recognizing that G-d Almighty performed miracles for us in those days at this season. We use the Shammash to light the first candle. We recite the Sheheheyanu blessing on the first night only! On each succeeding evening we add one additional candle, lighting the newest first. On the first night we recite three blessings, and on the remaining nights of Hanukkah, we sing two blessings only!
- We join in Hanukkah songs, including Maoz Tzur/Rock of Ages, I Have a Little Dreidel, Mi Y’maleil, Light One Candle by Peter Yarrow, We are Lights by Stephen Schwartz, and any other Hanukkah songs in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, Ladino, in any language Jews speak and sing!! Ask your young children and grandchildren to help you.
Don’t forget the Latkes! We eat Latkes to celebrate the miracle of the small cruse of oil discovered in the Second Temple, enabling the priests to light the remaining candles. Here is a great song, The Latke Recipe, written and performed by the Maccabeats, a wildly popular A Cappella group:
The miracle of Hanukkah is not just that the cruse of oil lasted for eight days! The miracle of Hanukkah is that all of us are here to celebrate our survival 2164 years after the Maccabees fought the Greeks for the preservation and rededication of our religious and cultural lives! We are all mandated to light the Hanukkah candles! The lighting of the Shabbat candles each and every Friday night and the recitation of Kiddush over wine and Challah present additional opportunities for our families to gather together, either at home, or virtually on Zoom, for a moment of calmness, Jewish celebration, affirmation and peace.
All the Tilman’s wish you Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukkah!
