Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah commemorates the ancient reclamation of the Temple in Jerusalem with clean oil by eating latkes and jelly donuts, spinning the dreidel, and the nightly ritual of lighting the candles on the hannukiah, the special eight-branched menorah.  “Hanukkah” means rededication, and on these eight successive nights we rededicate ourselves to the qualities and actions that inspired the original heroes: courage, faith, discipline, and hope – all combined with the insistance that it is far better to light even one small candle than it is to curse the darkness. My hope is that Etz Chaim serves as one such candle in your life, kindling the lights of love, peace, community, and friendship.