Hanukkah: Why 8 Days?

by Rabbi Yaakov Salomon

The special meaning of the number 8 in Judaism.

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Published: December 9, 2012
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Visitor Comments: 12

(10) Ernie Pinzon, December 12, 2012 11:01 PM

Great miracle? -- Canada supported Israel in the recent UN vote for Palestinian observer status and me -- praying for Israel. Psalm 122:6.

(9) Anonymous, December 12, 2012 7:01 PM

miracle of the rainbow

The rainbow has become a common occurance. However, if we really think about it, it is HaShem's gift to us and a reminder of the covenant. A rainbow after an intense storm is a miracle.

(8) Anonymous, December 12, 2012 5:17 PM

my life and my family and my dear friends

I am grateful every day for being alive, for the gift of life, and for having children and grandchildren. Although I am a widow, I feel that my husband's spirit is with me, and that HaShem is with me all the time. I delight in my family and my good friends, and in being able to teach Torah. Baruch HaShem.

(7) Anonymous, December 12, 2012 3:27 PM

Miracle child

My best friend survived cancer twice in her early twenties. She was told she would never be able to conceive children due to the chemotherapy. The doctor's were so serious that they froze her egg's. She met her husband in Israel and despite her prognosis he married her. They had a beautiful healthy child a year ago completely naturally without any assistance. She is their miracle.

(6) Anonymous, December 12, 2012 6:43 AM

return of a lost soul

our son was a.d.d and totally messed up in his schools and turned to drugs . through the help of HASHEM and talented psychologists we never turned him away, but he d id move to america for a while where he met and lived with a young greek girl, who , incredibly enough, was a thinker and looking for something more in her life. you guess the end yet? she went to the chabad shlichim on her college campus who told her that while she was living with a jewish boy they would not talk to her, and that her boyfriend had to come along, so they stopped living together, she ended up converting in israel totally halachically and now they have a bayit neeman beyisrael. talk about miracles!

Sharon, December 14, 2012 9:37 AM

Good Story

I'm happy for you that it ended that way. And yes I did guess the outcome because I've heard of similar stories.

(5) Sue, December 12, 2012 12:02 AM

donuts

unfortunately I do more than just watch those donuts.

(4) Malcolm Parker-Lisberg, December 11, 2012 8:35 PM

My son was killed in a motorcycle accident

My son left the house to ride his motorcycle. His mother did not want him to go and told me she new something was going to happen. The policeman knocking at our door confirmed our worst fears. He had left the road and crashed into a stone wall. He would tell us nothing more. A neighbour drove us the 30 miles to the hospital ITU, the prognosis did not look good. He had died at the scene on a lonely road in the middle of the isolated moors. The first miracle was that the only other car on this lonely road contained a fireman who had had specialist resuscitation training and he applied CPR to restart his stopped heart. He kept his fingers in our sons mouth to keep his airway free, even though he was being repeatedly bitten as or son fitted. He got his wife to dial the emergency services and call for the air ambulance. Our son was in ITU in less than 20mins after the accident. We called our friends and ask them to pray for our son. This included Catholics, Muslims and Hindus. The doctors told us that the prognosis was not good, he had three bleeds on his brain and a damaged spleen. After three days we were told that if he did survive he would be in a vegetative state. They would not operate on the spleen as the prognosis was still bad. 10 days later, though still unconscious he started lifting his right hand and making a gesture we did not understand. One of the nurses said that is the scuba diving signal for 'I am having trouble with my air.' His mum said you can have as much oxygen as you need, just breath.' Next day they removed the intubation and he breathed on his own. He was transferred into a rehab unit and walked out 3 months later. The rehab unit, which was idea of the neighbour who drove us to hospital, the doctors came to examine the spleen operation wound. They were very surprised to find no spleen operation had been performed and the spleen was now functioning normally. My wife and I accompanied our son under the chuppa this October where he married.

(3) Michael Fenton, December 11, 2012 5:32 PM

Sideways

Turn 8 on it's side and wonder

Anonymous, December 13, 2012 12:34 AM

Infinity

Amazing observation. You made me smile. I love lighting the candles and am so sorry that we're coming to the end of this mitzvah for another year. I pray that this year the strength of their light will be infinite enough to see us safe until next year. Baruch HaShem . Hakodosh Boruch Hu.

(2) Anonymous, December 11, 2012 4:46 PM

Miracle #2

OK, I'll go. I was 40 when I finally decided it was time to get married. Within 6 months I had met, dated, and married my wife, now of 11 years.

(1) Rosen, December 9, 2012 2:39 PM

Chanukah miracles vs. the skeptics

While there are many skeptics out there who will say things like the candle lasting 8 days and 8 nights was not really a miracle, but just a very good candle, as well as a recent Facebook post I saw regarding Chanukah as "running on oil we don't have." However, in terms of miracles and survivals, there are plenty of scholars who have acknowledged how much the Jews have survived over the past 2000 years. After the Holocaust, it seems like the next test for the Jewish people is to avoid intermarrying, even/esp. under the preface of "getting the best of both worlds" which hardly, if at all, advances one's Judaism. I know someone who was raised Catholic, and currently considers himself a "unitarian agnostic" where he is a firm believer in evolution and that humans are designed to breed out beyond their tribes. However, is evolution too much of a "dirty" word in Judaism, despite the evidence of it?...All in all, we Jews shouldn't marry outside of Judaism because it defeats the purpose of Jewish continuity. Even so, there is a debate on whether Judaism is determined biologically thru a Jewish mother or by Jewish education for anyone interested in Judaism and willing to convert, or better yet, come home after thinking they weren't Jewish at all but have found their Jewish lineage...

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About the Author

Rabbi Yaakov Salomon

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Rabbi Yaakov Salomon, C.S.W. is a noted psychotherapist, in private practice in Brooklyn, N.Y. for over 25 years. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Creative Director of Aish Hatorah's Discovery Productions. He is also an editor and author for the Artscroll Publishing Series and a member of the Kollel of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath.

Rabbi Salomon is co-author, with Rabbi Noah Weinberg, of the best selling book "What the Angel Taught You; Seven Keys to Life Fulfillment," (Mesorah), and is also the co-producer of the highly-acclaimed film, "Inspired."

Click here to order Yaakov Salomon's new book, Salomon Says: 50 Stirring and Stimulating Stories.

In these marvelous stories -- brimming with wit, understanding, a touch of irony and a large helping of authentic Torah perspective -- we will walk with a renowned and experienced psychotherapist and popular author through the pathways of contemporary life: its crowded sidewalks, its pedestrian malls, and the occasional dead end street. This is a walk through our lives that will be fun, entertaining -- and eye-opening. In our full -- sometimes overfull -- and complex lives, Yaakov Salomon is a welcome and much-needed voice of sanity and reason.

His speaking, writing and musical talents have delighted audiences from Harvard to Broadway and everything in between. Rabbi Salomon shares his life with his wife, Temmy, and their unpredictable family.