* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
* It’s the eighth day of Chanukah! With patience, perseverance, and faith, we have reached this climactic day and now the entire Chanukiah is filled with light. This special day is called “Zot Chanukah.” Even after the lights flicker out, we will continue to add special prayers and to give tzedakah until Thursday night.
* Today is considered the last of the days of judgment and repentance. Can you think back to the first day of Elul? Do you remember the days of Selichot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah? There are commentators who believe that this long process ends today. Some people even have the custom today of wishing others Gmar Chatima Tova (May you be sealed for a Good Year)!
* Rabbi Yisroel of Ruzhin, one of the great leaders of the Hasidic movement, said about this day: “What the tzadikim (righteous) can accomplish through their Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers, the Yehudi hapashut (ordinary Jew) can achieve on “Zot Chanukah” (the last day of Chanukah). We just need to stand in front of the light-filled Chanukiah and ask for light in every area of our lives.
