Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 65: Chanukkah: Light and Darkness
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QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW
In this week’s episode, April and Tracie use the Talmudic debate on how to light the Chanukkah menorah to reflect on light, darkness, and what this holiday can teach us about navigating the difficult times in our lives.
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Access the audio version with a full transcript here.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Tracie opens the episode reminding us that in our tradition there has been a debate about how you light the Hanukkah candles, either lighting consecutively or not. What do you think about this debate? What do you think about Tracie’s thoughts on what that means to her this year?
April reminds us that light just illuminates space, it doesn’t take effort. Have you thought of it this way before? What do you think of this?
April and Tracie discuss the symbolism of light and dark and how sometimes racist biases around white and black get put onto them. Have you thought about this before? How are they different? When do they get conflated for racist means?
April applies this concept to our thoughts in our mind. If we are experiencing darkness in our mind, you can try recalling a moment of light, a happy thought, to help. Has this worked for you? What are some examples of when you could apply this to your life?
Tracie and April discuss the symbolism inherent in the Shamai’s method of lighting the candles and what it can show us about resilience and weaning off of something, the miraculous oil in this case. What do you think about this interpretation? Does it help you appreciate this method more? ]
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