This week, as Jews across the world celebrate Chanukah, they also remember the victory of the Maccabees against the brutal rule of Antiochus IV, designated “Harasha” (“the wicked”) by rabbinic tradition. Antiochus’s main aim was to Hellenize the Jews in the ancient land of Israel by forcing them to adopt Greek customs in place of Jewish ones. more

Norway’s Health Ministry is considering a proposal to regulate the circumcision of boys. Some political parties are calling for a complete ban of the practice on minors.Two years ago, the ministry was tasked with reviewing circumcision and how it should be practiced in Norway. It has yet to finalize its stance, but it promises a proposed bill by Easter 2014, Health Minister Bent Hoie told Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper. more

A Coney Island synagogue lit a candle this Chanukah, not only to celebrate the Festival of Light, but to remember one of the darkest episodes of Jewish history. The Warbasse Jewish Heritage Congregation inaugurated its enormous new menorah and the beginning of the Jewish holiday on Nov. 27 with a special ceremony by a 96-year-old survivor of the Holocaust. Jack Eisenstein — who endured the horrors of the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps — kindled the first festival lights on the 22-foot-high, 16-foot-wide candelabrum, displayed for the first time this year at the corner of Neptune Avenue and W. Fifth Street. more

After 69 years, a Cedarhurst psychologist and Holocaust survivor was reunited this week with the son of the family who sheltered him and his family for two years during the Holocaust. The men embraced as Polziec arrived at JFK Airport from Mielec, Poland, then travelled to the Gerstner home on Albermarle Road to light the menorah on the first night of Chanukah. “When we were in hiding we couldn’t celebrate Chanukah,” Gerstner explained at the candle lighting. “This is an opportunity to celebrate together. We celebrate the victory over our enemies.” more

After the much anticipated year in yeshiva or midrasha has come and gone, the students return to earth from a spiritual high in the rarified environment of Torah learning in Israel. Back in the U.S., many struggle to establish a college experience that continues their Torah high. To facilitate and maintain a yeshiva connection in the students, Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky, menahel (principal) of the Davis Renov Stahler (DRS) High School for Boys in Woodmere, has initiated a periodic Shabbat minyan (the next one is this Shabbat, Dec. 7). All single post-high school young men and women are invited. more

Chabad of Hewlett held its annual Chanukah on Ice celebration at Grant Park ice skating rink on Dec. 3. more

THURSDAY DEC. 5 LUNCH & LEARN. With Rabbi Shalom Axelrod of Young Israel of Woodmere. Traditions Restaurant, 302 Central Avenue, off Rockaway Blvd., Lawrence. 12:30-1:30 pm. Buy a $12 lunch, eat and learn. Alan Stern 516-398-3094. more

From the Chabad House to the White House, there are few more ubiquitous symbols of Jewish presence than the menorah. From its first mention in the book of Exodus, the menorah has pervaded the literary and visual culture of the Jewish people, predating the Star of David as a uniquely Jewish insignia by at least a millennium. more

At the 50th anniversary of the death of American Zionist leader Abba Hillel Silver, newly discovered documents appear to confirm his skeptical view of the Truman administration’s position on Jewish statehood. more

Last week, my husband Jerry underwent some minor oral surgery. The surgeon advised that he eat a decent amount before since he wouldn’t really be able to chew much afterwards. By the time he got to her office he was stuffed and it reminded him of the time his first son was born, on the last day of Chanukah in December 1981. more