Holidays

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We pray for peace,

For ourselves and the world,

Even if only for one day:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, we choose justice.

Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.

Instead of work, we choose rest.

Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, we choose community.

Instead of fear, we choose endurance.

Instead of invective, we choose prayer.

Instead of violence, we choose peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We give thanks for this day of peace.

May it change us, may it change the world,

And let us say, Amen.

Abraham Joshua Heschel. a rabbi who marched for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King, Jr

Wrote that morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings,

That indifference to evil is worse than evil itself

That in a free society, some are guilty but all are responsible

May we continue to practice tikkun olam, repairing the world

May we continue to practice, gemilut chasidim, acts of lovingkindness

May we continue to practice tzedakah, just giving

May we recognize that all beings are created equal, b'tzelem elohim, in the image of the divine

May we walk away today knowing that each of us has the power to create change.

by Deanna Neil

You can also play the game of dreidel with adult beverages–just make sure everyone is 21+ if alcohol is involved!

To play this grown-up variation, replace the gelt with a beverage of choice for each player.

If a player lands on:

Nun: Nobody drinks.

Gimmel: Everybody drinks.

Hey: Only the person who spun the dreidel takes a drink.

Shin: The player who spun the dreidel makes a drink for another player.

Oh, Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah
Come light the menorah
Let's have a party
We'll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we'll give you a treat
Sevivonim to play with and lakes to eat

And while we are playing
The candles are burning low
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago

Oh, Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah
Come light the menorah
Let's have a party
We'll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we'll give you a treat
Sevivonim to play with and lakes to eat

And while we are playing
The candles are burning low
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago

Oh, Hanukkah, Oh, Hanukkah
Come light the menorah
Let's have a party
We'll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we'll give you a treat
Sevivonim to play with and lakes to eat

And while we are playing
The candles are burning low
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago

One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago