The author reflects on the Hanukkah prayer and its implications for understanding the current conflict in Gaza.

The Parashah for the week of Rosh Hashanah focuses on the story of Hannah, a woman who prayed fervently to have a child and was eventually blessed with a son named Shmuel, who became a great prophet.

In "The Voice and the Sword: A Meta-Narrative in Rashi" by Dan Jutan, the author explores how Rashi's commentary on the Torah reveals a larger story that cuts across Biblical narratives through the motifs of "the voice" and "the sword."

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda's father-in-law, Shlomo Naftali Hertz Jonas, lamented the absence of Judah Maccabee in prayers during Hanukkah, emphasizing Maccabee's importance as a hero and a symbol of Jewish resilience.