For many people, Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas. The Western (Christian) world has Christmas, so Jews have something similar, the holiday they call Hanukkah. Simple, right? I know that many of my readers and subscribers know better. In case you missed it, in past years, I published some seminars on the topic of Hanukkah. So, if you want to refresh your understanding of what the holiday is really about, they are available for streaming on PSHIR.COM.

The first one is called Beyond Menorah's and Dreidels. It's a concise introductory teaching about the holiday that I recorded with a live audience a while ago. In these videos, you can get all the basics and perhaps set aside some common misunderstandings people often have when it comes to Hanukkah.

Beyond Menorahs and Dreidels
Hanukkah is so much more than Menorahs and Dreidels. Learn more about this celebration and its history in this three-part seminar (exclusively on pshir.com) In this hour and a half we explore what the book of Maccabees tells us about Hanukkah. We also consider how Josephus explains those events
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The second video-study is called Villains and Heroes of Hanukkah. This one is an exploration of Hanukkah from a historical point of view, reading ancient sources of all kinds to understand not just Hanukkah but the very era when those events occurred. You guessed it, this study focuses on people involved in the story.

Villains and Heroes of Hanukkah
The story of Hanukkah is epic, much more epic than the books of Maccabees paint it. Yes, it’s the story of the Jewish wars against the mad and tyrannical Antiochus IV. But the Seleucid king himself was entangled in a series of wars that began long before he was
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So, enjoy the videos... And may God's glorious light shine so deep in your hearts this season that nothing would ever be able to dim its radiance!