Hanukkah celebrates triumph of 'spirit over matter' and 'light over darkness,' says faith leader
Fox News
Rabbi Pinchas Taylor of Florida explains the meaning and history of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday — with an emphasis on the soul over the material and physical.
"However, coupled with that," he said, "their philosophy of materialism solely exalted the physical and made worship of the physical a virtue and an ideal." "Commemorating Hanukkah each year by lighting the candles symbolizes the eternal triumph of spirit over matter and of light over darkness." "There is something inherently soulful and special to the human being, which, when embraced, enables a richer and more meaningful life." "Throughout his life, man is constantly in search of things that have nothing to do with his physical makeup." Hanukkah is a time when the faithful "recount the battle between matter and spirit." Deirdre Reilly is a senior editor in lifestyle with Fox News Digital.
Taylor said that this "created a culture" in which the human being was "glorified" as a "purely physical specimen."
Critically endangered whale seen off California coast: 'Every sighting is incredibly valuable to us'
In a rare sighting recently, the endangered North Pacific right whale was spotted off the coast of California by a marine wildlife team near Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.