cHappy cHanukah! (video)

Sheldon S., Ashley Wells, S. Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki; SpiritPeaceLove; DN!

Remember when actor Adam Sandler did The Chanukah Song(s)? That was funny. What is Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה‎)? It is a gift-giving Jewish holiday used like Xmas commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire.

Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December on the common Gregorian calendar. 

• When is Hanukkah (Chanukah) celebrated? (chabad.org) It starts today and lasts for eight days, secular dates for 2017: Dec. 12-20. Menorah, Dreidels, Latkes, Recipes...
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It is also known as the Festival of Lights -- like Diwali in India -- and the Feast of Dedication. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, called a Hanukkah menorah (or hanukkiah). More

Buddhist Jewish Dialogue

SpiritPeaceLove

Emory University Professor Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Ph.D. and Rabbi David Ingber from New York discuss differences and similarities between the Buddhist and Jewish paths. Additional commentary comes from The Drepung Loseling monks, Aspen Chapel, Aspen, Colorado, 2016.

News of the Day (Democracy Now!)

How Buddhism informed my Judaism: Rabbis Shmuly Yanklowitz, David Almog

HK tourist blocked from Tibetan town

Monks debate during the Monlam Chenmo, also known as the "Great Prayer Festival," at Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, China, 3/4/09. The Monlam Chenmo, falling on the 4th-11th day of the first Tibetan lunar month, is the greatest religious festival in Tibet and was established in 1409. Tibet's governor insisted Thursday that his region is stable and will remain so ahead of a sensitive anniversary marking the Dalai Lama's flight into exile that last year sparked anti-government protests and riots (AP).

BEIJING – Armed police were stationed throughout the capital of Chinese-controlled Tibet and blocked roads to the eastern part of the region, Hong Kong tourists said Friday, in the latest sign of tensions ahead of next week's anniversary of anti-government riots.

Paramilitary officers were spotted all over Lhasa and the atmosphere was "tense," a 33-year-old Hong Kong traveler told The Associated Press in a phone interview. More>>

• VIDEO: Tibetans fear intimidation (Reuters)
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