Hello everyone! Happy Chanukah! I think this is one of my first Chanukahs without snow, and that’s certainly different. However, Winter is the rainy season in Israel and up here on the mountain in Tzfas we have lots of fog too. Sometimes when we look out the window, we can actually see that we’re ON TOP of the clouds!

So far I’m having an amazing Chanukah in the Holy Land. For Shabbos we went to Tiveria (Tiberias), which is one of the four holy cities of Israel (the others being Tzfas, where I’m in seminary, Yerushalayim, and Chevron). We actually wrote about Tiveria in the Winter issue even before I went there, so keep your eyes open for that article! Tivera, besides for being a beautiful city on the water, is also home to many graves of Tzaddikim – so before Shabbos I got to visit the kever of the Rambam, Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, and many special women including Bilha and Zilpa, Tzipporah and Yocheved, Moshe’s wife and mother, Aharon’s wife Elisheva, and more.

So far this Chanukah has brought lots of singing, dancing, and of course donuts! The winter issue is on its way to you, and the staff did an incredible job on this issue all by themselves.

Remember, the deadline for the Editorial Board Applications is coming up, so don’t forget to send in your application ASAP. Stay tuned for the date of a Chanukah Unity Conference Call!

Leah :-)