Festival of Lights
“Judaism and its culture of hope survived, and the Hanukkah lights are the symbol of that survival, of Judaism’s refusal to jettison its values for the glamour and prestige of a secular culture, then or now. A candle of hope may seem a small thing, but on it the very survival of a civilisation may depend.” — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
25 Kislev - 2 Tevet 5786
Begins: Sundown on Sunday 14 December 2025
Ends: Nightfall on Monday 22 December 2025
History itself has a history. Our perspectives shift over time, and some moments may only seem meaningful in retrospect. We don't always understand the real significance of an event until many decades later or sometimes even centuries. A classic example...
On 20th October 2012, the Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks delivered a keynote lecture at Bushey Synagogue about the story within...
8 Short Chanukah Thoughts for 8 Chanukah Nights
The story of the Maccabees was more than one of military victory. They show what we can achieve when we keep faith.
Rabbi Sacks shares a message of Jewish hope... a hope which led to the celebration of Chanukah today.
Ancient Greece and its culture of tragedy died, but our Chanukah lights symbolise the survival of Judaism’s culture of hope.
Discover Rabbi Sacks' message to Mikhail Gorbachev when they lit Chanukah candles together in 1991.
If you only have one candle on Friday during Chanukah, what should you use it for? Should you light it as a Shabbat candle or a Chanukah one?
ARTICLES, REFLECTIONS
History itself has a history. Our perspectives shift over time, and some moments may only seem meaningful in retrospect. We...
Essays and writings from Rabbi Sacks' extensive body of work
ARTICLES
Hanukkah tells us not to curse the darkness, but instead to bring light to the world.
ARTICLES, ARTICLES
Chanukah is the festival on which Jews celebrate their victory in the fight for religious freedom more than two thousand...
ARTICLES
In 1991, I lit Hanukah candles with Mikhail Gorbachev, then President of the Soviet Union. After the ceremony he asked,...
CREDO
What I find fascinating about Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights we celebrate at this time of the year, is...
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Last night we lit candles on the first of the eight days of the Jewish festival of Chanukah. And I...
CREDO
It was a fateful clash of civilisations when Ancient Greece and Israel collided. Jews won. Had they not done so,...
JEWISH CHRONICLE ARTICLES
Too often, debates about Jewish identity and continuity take place in an intellectual void, as if we had no history....
ARTICLES
A military victory, however great, is short-lived. A moral victory endures.
ARTICLES, ARTICLES
There are times, rare but unforgettable, when you know you are living through a page of history. That is what...
The series of weekly commentary essays on the Torah by Rabbi Sacks
MIKKETZ • 5785
God is the co-author of the script of our life, and sometimes He reminds us of this by making us wait and taking us by surprise....
MIKKETZ • 5783
The Parsha in a Nutshell This summary is adapted from this week’s main Covenant & Conversation essay by Rabbi Sacks,...
