Judaism has always been open to what the world is learning and saying. It has fallen to every generation of Jews to determine how much openness is necessary, and how much is too much. That's the miracle of Hanukkah.

Jews around the world are marking the start of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, which celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C. after it was defiled by Syrian Greeks.

The 8-day festival began on the same day as Christmas this year – the first time the two holidays have coincided since 2005.

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, or Chanukah — the Festival of Lights — is underway. It began at sundown on Wednesday, Dec. 25 and will continue into the beginning of 2025. On eight consecutive nightfalls,

Hanukkah has been celebrated for more than 2,000 years It’s a tradition that’s older than Christmas. Hanukkah is known as a festival of lights that gets its start dating back to a conflict in the year 168 B.