As Hanukkah gets under way, our blog round-up covers everything from the Limmud controversy to…er, well yes…Hannuka!
Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying doing a weekly Parsha commentary at Times of Israel. This week’s offering can be found at Parshat Miketz: The Fractal Nature of Destiny. Not sure how long I’ll be able to keep up the pace, as things are heating up on the book scene. Looks like I’ll be ready to fix ISBN numbers in the next week, and then it’s off to the marketing circuit. So I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet while I’ve got it!
In other news, over the past few weeks, I’ve participated in two sessions of the Cardozo Academy Think Tank, which is both exhausting and exhilarating. Read all about what the Think Tank gets up to here.
Judaism
British chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis unleashed a furious debate when he announced his participation in this year’s Limmud conference. While some were against his participation, others offered compelling reasons why this step is long over due, including Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo.
History
Batya at Shiloh Musings writes about history close to home at: Maccabee Victory versus The Greeks, Nes Gadol Hayah POH, Right HERE!
Israel
Batya at Shiloh Musings muses on how some things never change: Modern Chanukah. The USA and Allies are The Greeks and We Jews in Israel are as always The Jews.
And at Me-ander, Batya writes about how Rami Levy goes above and beyond being “just a suppermarket”–http://me-ander.blogspot.co.
The Israel Forever Foundation says: “Seeing “Happy Chanukah” displayed in Hebrew on the buses of the Israeli national bus company is another way of saying those three inspirational words: Am Yisrael Chai.” Read more at: Chanukah Over The Years: The Israel Forever Foundation.
Meanwhile, Israelis are not only lighting candles at home, but are also being a highly visible “light unto the nations” with humanitarian missions to the Philippines and–of all places–Syria!
Esser Agaroth meanwhile asks whether such missions are a good idea in: Israel, The Philippines, and Typhoon Haiyan, and about Jewish involvement outside Israel: “Why does a Jew represent a country other than Israel?” at: Dan the Man and the Deal with Iran.
Aliyah
“Everyone who has made Aliyah, leaving family behind, knows that sooner or later The Phone Call will come.” A poignant post from It’s All From Hashem: http://itsallfromhashem.
Ann Persin says, “We all walk the line between pretending everything is fine and swimming in the abyss,” including a little boy with leukemia named Sammy, who gets his wish to visit Israel. Read the full post at:http://supermansamuel.
That concludes this edition of Havel Havelim, the Jewish Israel blog carnival, which floats around the internet. We organize it on our facebook page. Links can be sent via blog carnival. Submit your blog article to the next edition of jewish-israel blog carnival aka havel ha using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. Don’t forget to log in before submitting an article!
