Rabbi’s Message – December 15, 2022
Surrounded by ugly seasonal sweaters, the Jewish community gets creative as we try to keep up! Some of my favorites: “If life gives you potatoes, make latkes!” “Oy to the World,” and “’Tis the season to remind everyone I’m Jewish.” But my favorite one is: “Imagine your cell phone was at 10% and lasted 8 days. Now you understand!”
Chanukkah, Hanukkah, Hanukah… however you write it, people love to celebrate it. The menorah is a beacon of light in a period of darkness and our traditions bring families together with food. Fried food, no less, with chocolate gelt! But Hanukkah is more than delicious food and family gatherings. It is a celebration of religious freedom, reminding us of the historic victory described in Maccabees I and II, which took place in the 2nd century B.C.E. The original miracle would likely not make a great holiday sweater. It was a military victory. The Maccabees, a small group of rebellious Jews, overcame a much larger force, taking back the Temple in Jerusalem. The word, Hanukkah, means “dedication,” because they had to purify and rededicate the sanctuary after it was defiled by the Greeks with idols of Zeus and pigs.
It wasn’t until later on that the rabbis of the Talmud moved the focus from fighting to God’s redemptive role. That is where we learn about the miracle of the cellphone battery oil. They needed oil to last until a new supply could be found to light the menorah, but only had enough for one day. But the faith of the Maccabees was steadfast and the miracle of the oil was seen as their reward. This is the basis for lighting the Hanukkah menorah, as well as our love of everything fried, especially latkes and sufganiyot. Speaking of delicious fried foods, at our first “Newish to Jewish” event, Temple member, Carol Graff, taught the group how to make potato latkes from scratch. Kit Brewer, an attendee, put these newfound kitchen skills to work and created a short demonstrative “how-to” video we can all turn to when preparing our own celebrations this year. I appreciate Kit’s hard work and hope you enjoy watching the video, as well.
As we prepare to light our Chanukkah candles this year, may we carry the torch of our people forward and find warmth in our hopefulness. This year, let us all rededicate ourselves to meaningful Jewish living.
I would love to know the schedule of upcoming events.
Hi James! You can find all of our events on our calendar – https://tidayton.org/calendar- or in the most recent issue of our Temple Tablet newsletter – https://tidayton.org/temple-tablet. If you have any specific questions, feel free to give us a call (937.496.0050) or send us an email (info@tidayton.org).