Ready to Grow?

Jacob was renamed Israel—but did he ever truly live as Israel? In this teaching, we explore how regret reshapes memory, distorts identity, and quietly becomes the lens through which we tell the story of our lives. Drawing from Parashat Vayechi, the life of Jacob, and the example of Joseph, we confront a haunting question: are we surviving, or are we truly living? Why do we cling to pain even after God has called us forward? And what does it mean to finally let go of Jacob and embrace Israel? Join me as we wrestle with memory, identity, and the courage to live redeemed.

Why did Joseph put his brothers through suffering when God never told him to? Where is the verse that commands Joseph to test them—and what does its absence reveal about forgiveness, trauma, and reconciliation? This teaching wrestles honestly with one of the most emotionally charged moments in the Torah. Is Joseph seeking revenge, justice, or healing? Why does he weep again and again? And what does his story teach us about seeing those who wounded us—not through fear or resentment, but through love? Joseph’s journey forces us to ask a hard question: Are we willing to truly see… and be seen?

Hanukkah isn’t just a winter tradition — it’s a bold declaration of light in a world growing darker by the day. Why did Judaism survive when every empire around it collapsed? What made the Maccabees fight back instead of assimilate? And what does their courage demand from us now, when hostility toward the people of Israel is rising again? In this Hanukkah message, Rabbi Damian uncovers the deeper call of the festival: to resist the pressure to hide, to shine the light we’ve been given, and to awaken hope in a weary world. Join us to discover why the light still matters.