Lighting Up the Dark Days
Featuring Rabbi Julia Andelman and Jessica Fisher (RS ’20)
Hanukkah images are by Wilhelm Thielmann (1868–1924) and Alphonse Lévy (1843-1918) and taken from the JTS Library’s collections
BT Avodah Zarah 8a
When the first human being saw that the days were getting shorter and shorter, he said: Oy! Woe is me; maybe because I have sinned the world is getting dark and is going to return to chaos! … He got up and spent eight days in fasting and prayer.
When he saw that the winter solstice had arrived, and that the days were getting longer again, he said: this is just the order of the world. He went and celebrated a holiday for eight days.
ת”ר לפי שראה אדם הראשון יום שמתמעט והולך אמר אוי לי שמא בשביל שסרחתי עולם חשוך בעדי וחוזר לתוהו ובוהו … עמד וישב ח’ ימים בתענית [ובתפלה]
כיון שראה תקופת טבת וראה יום שמאריך והולך אמר מנהגו של עולם הוא הלך ועשה שמונה ימים טובים
