In the first year of rule of Cyrus, the King of Persia, Jews were given permission to return to Israel and rebuild the Holy Temple. A group of Jews led by Zerubavel set out for Jerusalem and began working on the second Temple. However, the Cutheans falsely accused the Jews of plotting a rebellion against King Cyrus and were successful in halting the construction of the Holy Temple for the remainder of his reign and throughout the reign of Ahasuerus, his successor. Construction resumed in the second year of the reign of Darius, Ahasuerus's son, on the 24th of Kislev.
On the eve of Chanukah, 2025, Sydney Jews, many of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, gathered to usher in the holiday in a grand seaside celebration. Amidst the festivities, two terrorists, who pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State, opened fire on the crowd. Several heroes placed themselves in the line of fire to stop them.
When it was over, 15 people were dead, including two rabbis, a Holocaust survivor, and a 10-year-old girl. The event shocked the world and threw a fresh spotlight on the rise of anti-Jewish hate, especially in Australia. Yet, it also inspired record attendance at public menorah lightings all over the world, as Jews—and non-Jewish friends—defiantly committed to fighting darkness with overwhelming light and goodness.
The eight-day festival of Chanukah begins tonight. In commemoration of the miracle of the oil (see "Today in Jewish History" for Kislev 25) we kindle the Chanukah lights -- oil lamps or candles -- each evening for eight days, increasing the number of lights each evening. Tonight, the first night of Chanukah, we kindle one light. (In the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall; this evening, then, commences the 1st day of Chanukah).
On the 1st night of Chanukah, we recite three blessings before lighting.
IMPORTANT: Because of the prohibition to kindle fire on Shabbat, the first Chanukah light must be lit before lighting the Shabbat candles, and should contain enough oil (or the candle be big enough) to burn until 30 minutes after nightfall.
Links:
Text and audio of the menorah blessings
For additional Chanukah observances, see Laws & Customs for tomorrow, Kislev 25
To one whose self is his body, death of the body is death of the self. But for one whose self is his love, awe and faith, there is no death, only a passing. From a state of confinement in the body, he makes the passage to liberation. He continues to work within this world, and even more so than before.
The Talmud says that Jacob, our father, never died. Moses, also, never died. Neither did Rabbi Judah the Prince. They were very high souls who were one with Truth in an ultimate bond—and since Truth can never die, neither could they.
Yes, in our eyes we see death. A body is buried in the ground, and we must mourn the loss. But this is only part of the falseness of our world. In the World of Truth, they are still here as before.
And the proof: We are still here. For if these high souls would not be with us in our world, all that we know would cease to exist.