Dear Friend,

Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is among the most widely celebrated of Jewish holidays. It is a time for happy family gatherings around the menorah, for children's songs and sizzling potato latkes and games of 'dreidel'. For many of us, it brings back fond memories of childhood, or serves to renew our sense of Jewish identity.

Yet Chanukah is rarely appreciated for its full significance. What are its deeper teachings, its historical origins, it's relevance for today? Surely Chanukah means more than just kid's parties or nostalgia for times gone by.

Each night of Chanukah, we add another light to the menorah, until all eight lamps shine on the eighth night. From this we learn of the importance of always aiming higher. If we did one good deed today let us aim to do two good deeds tomorrow.

Taking this message to heart will help us make Chanukah a more meaningful experience.

Rabbi Yehuda Pink