“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?” Rabbi Hillel (Pirke Avot 1:14) I got the idea from Rabbi Hillel, who lived at about the same time as Jesus. The three questions at the head of this essay …
At our Hanukkah party a couple of weeks ago, we asked our guests to each share a way in which they want to bring light into the world in the coming year. Like other festivals that kindle a blaze as the sun’s light wanes—Diwali, Christmas—Hanukkah can be understood as a collective refusal to surrender to …