Chanukah's Secret to Greatness

Would you be interested in learning deep secrets about everything? Please try to learn Pirkei D' Rabi Eliezer (ben Hyrkanos). In Perek Shilishi, he begins to teach us secrets that are available and open if only we would give ourselves time to learn them. One of his students was Rebi Akiva. Many sforim stores carry Pirkei D' Rebi Eliezer, and it is also available in English.

people are blessed by your creative insight,thank you so much...

Beautiful post! We are to be salt and light! Greatness knocks on my door, and I greet it with gladness! Shalom and many thanks! Dr. Charlo

You don't have to be Jewish to be moved & inspired by this video. It's something I really needed to experience & I'm so glad my friend sent it to me b/c this was clearly a God thing! Thanks for making & sharing this GREAT video. :)

Thank you for this msg...how timely it is to me. I lost the love of my life, David, Saturday, 12/8/12...and the darkness of sadness, emptiness and grief have been washing over me like tsunamis...in waves. Thank you for reminding me that the candle's light truly shines the brightest in the darkness. My love passed not only on Shabbos, but the first night of Chanukah as well...David, may his memory be for a blessing, is one of those Chanukah lights! Thank you for reminding me...Tonna

Tonna, I wish you much strength during this heartbreaking time. I'm happy for you that you saw this amazing video as a guide, and I hope it continues to help you deal with your grief.

Just happened to be looking at Aish...on this the year anniversary of my David's passing..and saw your comment. Thank you very much for your thoughts. It has been a both difficult and blessed year at the same time. What a blessing it is to have come across this video once more...just when I needed to find it! Baruch Hashem! There truly are no coincidences! Thank you again, Deena for your kind thoughts...may G-d bless you as well!

So powerful inspiring pouring out light goodness and holiness. You can touch the G-dliness. Thank you!

How spirituality relevant at this time. Simply moving...

Wow, what a powerful message!

I can't tell you how many times I've been encouraged, wept or cheered when listening to your videos. I share them on facebook, I sit my kids down and we watch them together and discuss them. I hope you will never tire of doing what is right, of spreading light in a very dark world.. in giving challenges, and being a sign post to the nations. THANK YOU!!

Yvonne, what a wonderful comment! I was moved by your sharing, how you sit with your children and watch the videos and discuss them! This is how we teach our children the values of being Jewish so that the light never goes out! Good for you!

100% agreed!!! Well said !

wow that video really lit up my chanuka! very powerful!

this video was sooo powerful!! even though i'm just a kid, it was sooo amazing!! thank you!!

wooooow!!! really powerful!

wow, im not even religious or particularly care for this stuff, but that was powerful!

I'm so glad aish put this up again because I must have missed it in 2009!! What a fabulous and powerful video. I am totally inspired and touched. Thank you so much for this incredible message. So well presented.

wowwwwwwwwwwwww so simple yet sooooooooooooooooooo powerful .Thank you Charlie

My husband and I just LOVE your video's Rabbi Harary. May Hashem protect you and always LIGHT up your way. Chanuka sameach!!

Thank you for your video. I was touched by it and am sending it to all my friends.

This video is incredible! I love the message and the analogies! Kol HaKavod!!!

This short video just cannot be any better! Thank You! The people should live this way!

Enjoyed this message about Chanukah. Inspiring.

A passionate, beautiful message. Nia:weh Charlie Harary.

so inspiring! thank u!

I am a great fan of Charlie Harary but I take exceptiont to his negative comment about Alexander the Great. Although the conqueror of a good part of the known world wished to Hellenize the world which he had conquered, he did not force the Jews to adopt Hellenization but instead encouraged them to observe the Jewish religion. In fact, in gratitude for this, Jewish boys for a certain amount of time were called "Alexander," in appreciation of Alexander the Great.

This is a great message for the times we live in today.

Did I just see Zuko and Dr. Evil in a video about Jewish theology? o_O But seriously, this was very inspiring. God bless!

Charlie Harrary's videos are wanderful; this one is particularily inspiring!

It was so meaningful and profound. Thank you for the constant inspiring messages

I really learned alot from this nice article. Thank you and may Hashem bless you.

Amazing message-such a shame there are inappropriate images... goy lighting a menorah?

All of our Presidents do this. It's a sign of religious freedom in the United States. Jews can practice Judaism, it's acceptable, that's not a shame but a delight we have the freedom to do so.

beautiful message; the images are distracting and sometimes inappropriate, and therefore detract from the message. So many of your films are visually inspiring. This is like the old Sesame Street; if our visual attention span is limited to 3 seconds, how do we maintain our auditory attention for the 8 minutes it takes to process the message of greatness given here??

This was a very powerful message that everyone can relate to. Yashar Koach to Aish and Charles Harary on an amazing job spreading the message of greatness and Chanuka to the world. May we all heed the call and rise above just as the oil of Chanuka does!

very enjoyable and easy to understand. thank you

Thank you for this beautiful chanukah message. This was a very powerful video and changed my understanding of chanuka.

excellent as always.

Wonder if you have ever noticed the tops of all the Hebrew letters, pointing upwards. I don't know if our Rabbis have offered an explanation for this custom. But it suggests to me the idea that Hebrew words are like flames of illumination and energy. On Chanukah, we kindle the lights to renew our enthusiasm for Torah study...These letters also suggest to me the idea of learning Torah at night, by candle light. In the darkness of night, in our confusion, Torah lights the way. HAPPY CHANUKAH Harry@RochesterNY

Thank you for another inspiring video commentary. I always enjoy them and as the wonderful "8 Wonderful Nights" approach, I hope the world over is lighted by the menorahs. I love this and every holiday and High Holiday because every one brings me closer to where and who I want to be. Brura

Its brought down that when A. The Great came to Jerusalem the Kohen Gadol came out to the street in the Kohanic Garb. Alexander stopped in his tracks and declared that this was the man that he saw the night in his dreams before every battle which lead him to victory. He then as Ira stated never oppressed the Jews and enabled them to continue to live as an independent commonwealth. Secondly, It is for discussion in terms of the last holiday of the year - it is important to note that the modern state of Israel's symbol is indeed the Menora as minted on the money and legal emblems. While authorities disagree over the status of modern state, no-one can dispute the miracles that occurred and that are still occurring each and everyday in the homeland. I even noticed that one of the pictures used in the backdrop was from the post 6 day war after we were privileged to have won back Har Habayit

Thank you again for your inspiration. May you always be able to inspire others and shine light onto the world

You are amazing! Thank you so much for everything you say! You just speak so well...I love everything you say

that was powerful! mr. harary, you are such a powerful and amazing speaker! i watched almost all of your videos and i am inspired everytime. thank you!

Greatness is putting that one last effort when everything has been exhausted and letting G-d complete the work. It is like deciding and pushing oneself to light the last remaining candle in one's life when it is tempting to just settle in the darkness. As a sage once said that G-d's redemption comes suddenly when one gives an effort. Thank you for the message! G-d bless you!

I am a PhD in military history. This was an excellent presentation by Mr. Harary, but I am aware, through my training, of things he may not have known. A source of this was also Aish.com OWN site about Alexander and the Jews. Like Napoleon, Alexander NEVER disturbed or persecuted conquered peoples for the obvious political reason that a happy people is far better than disloyal, possibly 5th column . While he personally MAY have disliked Jews and everyone else as well, he did absolutely NOTHING himself, and this portrayal of him is inaccurate. It was his one of his three lieutenants, Antiochus of the Seleucids, who started all the trouble. No doubt at all about Alexander. My position is supported by both the Talmud and Josephus. This in no way is a revering of this man, but an historical fact. Inevitably, history shows that when a people is subjugated, resistance follows, and is always ultimately successful. (examples..the Nazis in Europe, The USSR after WW2, etc) But the point is that Alexander himself had absolutely nothing to do with Chanukkah any more than Napoleon did with the Dreyfus case in France. I welcome any discussion that elucidates more on this topic. Again, just do a search, Alexander and the Jews, and you get this website which explains exactly what happened. What Mr. Harary represents is not correct on this point, but absolutely correct on those that followed him.

that was just wonderful.

Fantastic....cuts across religious or denominational inclinnations...thank you

You delivered that so well, it was so inspiring!!! Thank you so much!!!

Thank you Charlie! This was powerful, inspiring, and very true.

I loved it, will show my children as I think its a great message

...beautiful....

Fantastic, truly great. I really enjoyed the film. The content is very profound and the delivery was inspiring. The only question that remains is what to do with the inspiration....

that was SO imspiring! wonderful words,very meaningful!!

Thank you

What an unbelievably powerful video. I cannot wait to share this with my students and colleagues. It is not only the content which is superb ; the delivery by Charles Harary is exceptional. Thank you for the amazing inspiration to continue lighting the flames of potential with whatever oil is available--and to recognize the true meaning of "greatness."

This was beautiful

thank you sooo much for this video! it's EXACTLY what i needed to hear! the inspiration i needed! thank you sooo much! happy channukah!

it is great to have reminders when u are going thru rough times. thank you aish, beautiful job done.

Whoa! totally to the point when it comes to the younger generation that includes me!

thank you very much

right on target

Great. Extremely well done.

Excellent performance, excellent leitbild! You touched me. Khag some'akh!

This was so beautifully done and very inspiring! Thank you.

You are truly great. May you always light up the lives of everyone you touch.

This is great! Thank you so much! Just the words I need to hear!

Amazing! Inspirational, just what I needed. Thanks for being so GREAT!

Incredible

Thanks for this beautiful message, that relates to what we best have in ourselves, that is, our love and potential to release it to benefit the world and all living things in it.Create light to transform this world in an ever better one that is worth living in, is certainly our most noble mission, be us religious people or only philosofical humanists. It's always rewarding hearing these inspiring messages full of wisdom and hope we get in this site. Congrats !!!

This movie was great, and could not have come at a better time for me. You see, I am facing some challenges right now. I will envision myself as a macabee and see if that makes it easier for me to do the right thing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the video presentation on the Secret to Greatness by Charles Harary. I couldn't resist to pass this one on and on!! Blessings. Hag Sameach Chanukah!! marie

Thank you for such a heartfelt message. Thank you for delivering it with genuine good will. Happy Hanukkah to you and to all those to whom you bring light.

A beautiful message about life, about light. Maybe we shouldn't be seeking greatness at all, because it's not in greatness as a goal that we achieve, but in being true to the beauty within our souls, to BE a Macca BEE. It's the NO BELL prize, and we're all capable of being the bells, the I AM in chime. God wrote this story, and we're all knocking on those doors. And as you say, take the opportunity that's here for us all, because THAT's the miracle, the candle in the darkness, all of us, and what we can do, for each other, this most beautiful world.

muy buenos los mails

Absolutely Inspiring

There are no words! you are fantastic!!! Chanukah Samayach!!