On Night 6 of Hanukkah, writer, speaker, and activist Arlene Goldbard, past board president of The Shalom Center, looks to shed light on the root spiritual crisis underlying patriarchy.

For Night 5 of Hanukkah, Rabbi Becky Silverstein, Co-Director of SVARA’s Trans Halakha Project, Schusterman Fellow, and Jewish Studio Project board member, sees an invitation to let the light illuminate the joyful world made possible by eradicating transphobia.

On Night 4 of Hanukkah, the Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis, Executive Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is heartened by a central message of the ancient story: God has gifted us with enough light to not just survive, but to banish the darkness.

For Night 3 of Hanukkah, Heather Booth, President of Midwest Academy finds inspiration to “turn anger into action; pain into purpose”.

For Night 2 of Hanukkah, Madeline Canfield, Organizing Coordinator for Adamah’s Jewish Youth Climate Movement, encourages us to find hope in “the embodied practice of resistance.”

For night 1 of Hanukkah, Lex Rofeberg, Senior Jewish Educator at Judaism Unbound, reminds us that our holiday rituals should not only serve as sanctuaries from the injustices of the world, but rather as reminders of the work we must do to confront them.

Tomorrow night at sundown begins Hanukkah, a festival of kindled lights, sacred resistance, and unexpected miracles. A holiday that beckons us back to source. A holiday that we at The Shalom Center invite you to join us for, right here, over the next eight days.

Excerpts from an amazing, revealing NY Times p.1 story on a truth hidden from public view for eight weeks since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.

We at The Shalom Center have sent three different letters in the last three days. They/we all came from different basic groundings, and we all came to the same conclusion: There must be a ceasefire in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

And now, we are living in a ceasefire. It was brought about by pressure from many, many peoples, publics, and governments in the world. But how do we keep it “ceased”?

“Yisrael” Means “Godwrestler.”

What Does “Godwrestler” Mean?

Bernie Sanders: How do we balance our desire to stop the fighting with the need to address the roots of the conflict?

In this pause, however brief, it seems worth reconsidering together just what this war has achieved and what it has cost.

Dear companions in the work to turn tears of grief into wellsprings of transformation, we suggest setting aside a time at your Thanksgiving table for prayer — perhaps this last paragraph of Mourners Kaddish, especially appropriate in these days in memory of the dead of both Abrahamic peoples, Perhaps follow the prayer with a heart-talk about what you can do, however small, to bring one step closer the time when the guns stop speaking and the people start.

An effort to look forward to a transformed future between Israel and Gaza.

The letter below asks for contributions to “Academia for Equality.” Among small non-profits like The Shalom Center, it is extremely unusual to encourage donors to other non-profits. But we think protecting the right to speak Truth is so important — the Talmud teaches that Truth, Justice, and Shalom are the three pillars that uphold the world — that we do encourage you to do just that.

Keep Our Light Shining Bright: A Pre-Hanukkah Workshop on Staying Resilient and Hopeful in Painful, Challenging Times

Facilitated by Cherie Brown, this pre-Hanukkah experiential workshop will offer an opportunity to learn and practice skills to stay hopeful and resilient in the face of excruciatingly hard times.

The last several days and for many, this whole week, has been treated by many Jews and others as shloshim — thirty days to mourn both the Israeli and Palestinian war dead.

We think it time to begin turning our tears of grief for the Israel-Gaza War into a wellspring of creativity for peace. We must explore what the War poses for the future, including the dangers — physical and spiritual — it poses to American Arab and Muslim and American-Jewish communities.

A statement and video by rabbis and rabbinical students calling for ceasefire.

Two midrashic responses to two different parts of the Torah portion of Vayera, the Torah portion for next Shabbat.

Statement of Tikkun magazine and Beyt Tikkun: A Synagogue without Walls