Product Overview
Eight nights. Eight lights. Eight family values. Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky provides families with a way of letting their Hanukkah celebrations affirm not only their Jewish identity, but the very Jewish values they wish to transmit to their children. Judah and his brothers and those who fought with them had the kind of courage that it seems like we can only read about in history books. Perhaps that is what draws us to the Hanukkah festival each year. A small group of untrained men and presumably women entered into guerrilla-type warfare with the entire Assyrian-Greek army. Working in small ambush attack units, they succeeded in toppling a military giant. Through their persistence and determination, they regained control of the land of Israel. Their victory was incredible, even by the standards of modern warfare. Yet, it seems incomplete. There had to be more to their triumph than just a display of military prowess. That would seem to be insufficient to establish a festival in the middle of winter. The rabbis agree. They wanted to steer the Jewish community clear of what was becoming a clear emphasis on the military victory of the Maccabees. Thus, the rabbis introduced the notion of spiritual strength into the celebration of Hanukkah. Listen to the well-known words of Zechariah (from the Haftarah for Shabbat Hanukkah) that they chose as their theme: Not by might and not by power, but by My spirit, says Adonai (Zechariah 4:6). This is the kind of faith that the Maccabees also possessed. Perhaps it was this inner strength that really drove them to victory They won because they believed that they could win. And then they acted on that belief. We may think that Judah and the Maccabee's heroism is unparalleled and it may be. But there is Maccabee strength in each one of us. We are all children of the Maccabees. As modemn Jews, living with one foot each in both the Jewish and the secular world, the challenge we face is to retap that reservoir of courage that lies hidden
Torah Aura Productions publishes books for Jewish schools and families that help celebrate our heritage and our faith.
We have over 25 years of experience as the leading creator of high quality educational materials that enable Jewish children to become empowered Jewish adults.
Our books guide and enhance the Jewish knowledge, spirituality and identity of children and their families, and our innovative tools bring Judaism alive in synagogues, Hebrew schools, and day schools.
Torah Aura Productions was founded in 1981 by a group of innovative Jewish educators who looked out at the field of Jewish education and found materials that were shallow and dull. They started a company to create new tools for families and teachers that would be exciting and meaningful. For more than two decades, Torah Aura has revolutionized the way Jewish schools enable their students to become empowered Jewish adults, and has helped families make Judaism a meaningful presence in their homes.
Some of the areas we publish in:
- Torah and Bible
- Talmud
- Jewish teaching
- Jewish parenting
- Jewish ethics and values
- Jewish holidays
- the Jewish lifecycle
- Israel
- Hebrew
- Jewish prayer
Torah Aura Productions: Making success in Jewish education an achievable reality.
