Dedicating and Rededicating
A Hanukkah Meditation Journey
With Zac Newman, Jes Golden and Rav Naftali Hirsch
4 - 11 December 2026
A 30-minute guided meditation sent to you on each day of Hanukkah
With a 75-minute live session on Thursday 10 December at 10:30am PST/1:30pm EST/6:30pm UK/8:30pm Israel
“...בֵית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ נִמְצָא בְּכָל אִישׁ...” – “The Temple is found within every person”
Job 28:12 and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Pri HaAretz to move slightly closer to the quotations
When the Hanukkah story tells of the Temple’s desecration, only one jar of pure oil remained.
It was enough to fuel the menorah for only one night.
While the oil lasted, each sacred daily rhythm was renewed by its light.
The Maccabees laid stones of a new altar and rededicated holy vessels. They made offerings of incense and burst into praise with instruments and song.
The Hanukkah story offers a path forward in the face of brokenness and desecration.
Hanukkah means dedication. It recalls the Temple’s rededication, and return to its sacred state.
Together, we’ll explore returning to ourselves and returning anew to our place of holiness this season.
How do we come back to what enables wonder, gratitude, and fuels our own inner light to shine?
Can we see brokenness, and feel our hearts stirred to compassion, to repair, and to uplift what is already present and sacred?
Join us in cultivating equanimity amidst challenge, gratitude without attachment, and to offer praise for the miracles that find us daily. Together, our practice will draw us more deeply into connection with ourselves, others, the world and the Divine.
Drawing on this sacred ancestral tale, each session offers teaching, guided meditation, and a kavanah—an intention to carry into your day.
Whether you are new to meditation or a seasoned practitioner, this journey is an invitation to (re)dedicate to this practice, to sustained attention, and to the light that endures, even when it seems impossible.
This course is an invitation to:
Explore the richness of Hanukkah as an embodied experience from the Jewish tradition
Connect with profound resources of heart and mind through our ancient story of rededication in the face of desecration
Open your heart and mind toward the pleasant and the miraculous
Meet sacredness and Divinity right where you are
Share in community through this Jewish meditative journey with others around the world
Who is this for?
This series is open to all, from beginner to advanced meditators and whatever your relationship with Jewish life is like. It provides a welcoming and supportive space to connect with others on a shared path of exploration and growth, and will offer mutual encouragement and support on your meditative journey in a Jewish spiritual framework.
Meet Your Teacher
Zac Newman
Zac has been practicing mindfulness since 2008, emptiness since 2010, and teaching practice since 2013. He trained to teach mindfulness through the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University. Zac's responsibilities at Or HaLev include teaching, supervising our curriculum, mentoring other teachers and directing our English online program. Prior to his role at Or HaLev, he was the Community Director of HaMakom, the UK-based Jewish meditation organisation. Zac is a long-standing student of religious studies and psychotherapy. He is a rabbinical student in the ALEPH Ordination Program, and he is continually interested in how we can realize the wisdom of our tradition and the goodness of our lives. Zac has practiced extensively with Rob Burbea's teachings and draws on these substantially in his teachings of emptiness.
“The wisdom and kindness of Zac's teaching is amazing. It is very humbling to learn from someone who is so attentive, responsive and caring, and also knowledgeable. ...The meditation practice and learning has set me free from some very difficult, painful experiences.” - Claire L.
Choose your rate
At Or HaLev, we believe in the spirit of generosity as an essential part of practice. We also acknowledge that financial abilities differ for everyone. We want to make this course accessible to those who wish to participate, regardless of ability to pay.
Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able to. Your generosity helps support Or HaLev's activities and grow our community.
Supporter
Enables a scholarship for those who cannot afford the course.
Standard
Covers the actual cost
of the course.
Scholarship
A subsidized rate
of the course.
If the scholarship rate is financially unfeasible for you, please write to zacn@orhalev.org, with a brief explanation of why you’d like to join us and your financial needs, and we will do our best to make the series accessible to you.
We Are Here
Any questions? Please email Or HaLev Program Director, Zac Newman, at zacn@orhalev.org
“Zac is an exemplar of attentive and compassionate listening. His reflections were thoughtful and attuned to each person’s specific needs. The themes of the meditation were deep and practical at the same time as his instructions could not have been more easily and readily put into practice. It might be the best class I’ve ever taken. He is an excellent teacher and facilitator and is exquisitely adept at pacing his delivery of information and source material, which was very rich, lively and inspiring. For the first time, after meditating for over 60 years on and off, I’ve been able to deeply relax without working at it. And it carries over to the rest of my life because I’m able to let go of tension extremely easily now. What a blessing this class has been!” - Chana B