I
always loved Hanukkah, of course as a child, but also as an adult as well.
There are warm memories of the sights, smells and feelings which return each
year lighting the candles and giving the little gifts to family and
friends. Growing up, we heard the story of the "miracle" of the
cruise of oil that lasted for eight days. Later, it was interesting to study
and learn about the real history behind the Hanukkah story. Read Rabbi Leynor’s
blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-lights-of-hanukkah-are-lights-of.html
The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to...
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