5782 Hanukkah

November 25, 2021
22 Kislev 5782
Parashat Vayeshev
Genesis 37:1 - 40:23

A Meditation

A meditation offered at our annual Thanks & Giving event in 2018:

A Meditation on Giving
After Maimonides 

There are many ways to give.
           There’s giving money or food
           to those who need it.
But there’s also sharing a kind word.
           There’s giving time, attention,
           and the sense of being seen;
Bestowing honor, offering hospitality, and sitting
with someone who is ill
           Granting peace.
Offering love.
           But not all giving is the same.
           Some give grudgingly, reluctantly, or with regret.
Some give less than they should, but with grace.
           Others give what they should,
           but only after being asked;
A blessed few create circles of generosity where
neither the giver nor the recipient know the
identity of the other.

The highest level of giving is when we allow the
recipient to become self-supporting, a giver in their
own right.
 At this time of thanks and giving,
           May we all commit ourselves to share abundance,
           words, time, resources, peace and love.

Chanukah begins on Sunday night, following on the heels of Thanksgiving. It is a holiday that commemorates rededication and renewal in the wake of destruction and loss with the lighting of lights. The nightly addition of lights is a powerful reminder of the strength of coming together. We are grateful for all that is ours, which becomes so much more when we share ourselves and our gifts with others.

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving, a Shabbat Shalom and a joyous beginning of Chanukah.

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn