![The First Miracle of the Oil](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/iStock_000015010063_Small.jpg)
The First Miracle of the Oil
Why was there a need for the miracle of the oil, if there’s no oil, they simply wouldn’t have lit the menorah!?! What exactly is the miracle of the oil and...
Nov 26, 2017
By Dr. Chana Tannenbaum
![Kislev: A Time of Rebirth](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/Menorah-3-e1470756298136.jpg)
Kislev: A Time of Rebirth
What is the Jewish definition of time? In Judaism, events don’t determine time, time determines events. What is the nature of the month of Kislev and how does that relate to...
Nov 26, 2017
By Shprintzee Rappaport
![Chanukah: Home Sweet Home](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/home-sweet-home.jpg)
Chanukah: Home Sweet Home
How does “Af Hein Hayu B’Oto HaNes” apply to Chanukah? What does the term “ner ish u’beito” mean and why the emphasis on “bayit”? Recorded at OU Israel’s L’Ayla Rosh Chodesh...
Nov 23, 2017
By Rabbanit Shani Taragin
![My Chanukah Miracle Among Indonesian Muslim Fundamentalists](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/Menorah-4-e1470806507132.jpg)
My Chanukah Miracle Among Indonesian Muslim Fundamentalists
How my return to my Jewish roots began in Bali, Indonesia, a Hindu Island in the largest Muslim country in the world. Recorded at OU Israel’s L’Ayla Rosh Chodesh Women’s Event
Nov 23, 2017
By Chana Jenny Weisberg
![Reading Megilat Antiochus on Chanukah](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/GettyImages-466484712.jpg)
Reading Megilat Antiochus on Chanukah
On Purim, we are obligated to read Megillat Esther which is a historical account of the Purim story. Why is there no parallel mitzvah on Chanukah to read Megilat Antiochus? Shiur...
Nov 6, 2017
By Rabbi Daniel Glatstein
![Chanukah: The Yom Tov of Torah Sheba’al Peh](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/Menorah-4-e1470806507132.jpg)
Chanukah: The Yom Tov of Torah Sheba’al Peh
Why does the Rambam classify the mitzvah of Ner Chanukah very beloved? Why in the course of thanking Hashem for the miracle in Al Hanisim do we include establishing the holiday?...
Nov 6, 2017
By Rabbi Daniel Glatstein
![The Biblical Roots of Chanukah](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/calendars-e1366652438803.jpg)
The Biblical Roots of Chanukah
Is it simply by chance that Chanuka occurs on the 25th of Kislev? Most students would answer with a definitive ‘YES’. After all, doesn’t the word ‘Chanuka’ evolve from the popular...
Oct 3, 2017
By Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
![When and What Prompted the Hasmonean Revolt?](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/Chanukah-Candles-Box.jpg)
When and What Prompted the Hasmonean Revolt?
When did the Hasmonean revolt start and what prompted it? Why is the basic mitzvah of chanukah one candle per home per day?
Aug 30, 2017
By Rabbi Yehuda Leonard Oppenheimer
![Purim vs. Chanukah – Netzach vs. Hod](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/iStock-527495697.jpg)
Purim vs. Chanukah – Netzach vs. Hod
Chanukah and Purim correspond to the attributes of hod and netzach, two halves of one whole. How do these two opposing attributes work together?
Mar 10, 2017
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer
![Chanukah: Light vs. Vessels](https://www.ou.org/holidays/files/iStock-154394758.jpg)
Chanukah: Light vs. Vessels
The miracle of the oil isn’t mentioned in any historical text & isn’t mentioned in Megilat Taanit as a reason for Chanukah. The Gemara, however mentions it. Why the discrepancy?
Dec 28, 2016
By Rabbi Yochanan Bechhofer
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