IDENTITY
Who were the "Greeks," and what was their true threat?
1. Rabbi Landy's lecture for Chanukah 5764 from 4:20 til 13:15
2. Members' lecture for Chanukah 5764 from 6:45 til 19:00, by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
3. Members' lecture for Chanukah 5766 from 7:30, by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
4. Marei Mekomos for Members' lecture on Chanukah 5766 section 8
Who was the founder of the Greek Empire? In what year did he arrive in Eretz Yisrael, and how did his conquest proceed?
PRECURSORS IN THE TORAH
What parallels do we find in Sefer Bereishis for the Greek oppression? What is a necessary prerequisite for Klal Yisrael to fulfill their mission and counteract them?
1. Members' lecture for Chanukah 5766, by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
2. Marei Mekomos for Members' lecture on Chanukah 5766 section 4, til 8
The Midrash interprets the word "darkness" in Bereishis 1:2, as an allusion to the exile imposed by the Greeks, who "darkened the eyes of Yisrael with their decrees." Why are the Greeks "darkness"? What is the light that counteracts them?
How does the Chanukah Dreidel, with the four letters Nun- Gimel- Hei- Shin, allude to the four exiles? What was the defining factor of Greek subjugation, in the context of the four exiles?
DEFINING TRAITS
What do Chazal say about Greek culture? What is the proper place for beauty?
What was the Greeks' outlook on understanding the world? What is the approach taken by Klal Yisrael?
1. Lecture for Chanukah 5767 from 12:15 til 20:00, by Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman
In the visions of Sefer Daniel (Ch. 2, 7), the Greeks are portrayed as the material bronze, and as a leopard, respectively. What was the Greeks' attitude that led to this description?
1. Members' lecture for Chanukah 5765, by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
What is the proper place for the trait of brazenness that the Greeks embodied? Who exemplified this trait? How does it play a role in the observance of Chanukah?
1. Members' lecture for Chanukah 5765 from 26:15, by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
2. 3. Marei Mekomos for Members' lecture on Chanukah 5765 section 6
Marei Mekomos for Members' lecture on Chanukah 5765 section 10, til 12
PERSECUTION
What brought about the Greeks' harsh decrees against Torah observance - from the spiritual perspective, and the political perspective?
Why does the "Al ha'Nisim" prayer single out the Greeks' effort to make us forget the Torah, among the other Mitzvos they drove us to transgress? What aspect of Torah did they particularly oppose?
1. Lecture for Chanukah 5767 from 15:55 til 24:25, by Rabbi Yehoshua Hartman
Why did the Greeks have a problem with the Mitzvah of declaring Rosh Chodesh; it doesn't seem to define us as Jews (as do Shabbos and Milah)? What outlook on the world is taught by the moon, and what by the sun?
1. Members' lecture for Chanukah 5769 from 0:00 til 11:40, by Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
2. Marei Mekomos for Members' lecture on Chanukah 5769 section 9
How did the Jews react to Greek persecution?
