CHANUKKA - A festival of lights with the TfJ

On a Friday evening in early December, we from Tor nach Zion once again visited the TfJ to celebrate together with the youth of our congregation. This time we didn't organise a Shabbat evening, but a Hanukkah celebration. Hanukkah means "rededication". This festival commemorates the victory of the Maccabees and the liberation of Israel from 200 years of Greek-Syrian rule. It celebrates the rededication of the temple and a miracle of light that the Lord gave in the temple. Legend has it that the oil for the candlestick in the temple was only enough for one day. God performed a miracle and kept the lampstand burning for 8 days. It took that long for new consecrated oil to be produced. I started the Hanukkah celebration with the exciting story of Judas Maccabeus, the liberation of Israel and the rededication of the temple. We lit the Hanukkia, the candlestick, sang Hebrew songs and ate delicious food baked in oil. This Hanukkah tradition commemorates the oil in the candlestick of the temple. Mathis whirled around in the kitchen for us and conjured up delicious fish and chips. After the meal, we reflected on what gives us light and direction on our path and what it means to be a temple (house) for God. In small groups we got into good dialogue. Then, as always on Hanukkah, we made a dreidel. The dreidel is a kind of dice with the Hebrew first letters of the sentence "A great miracle happened here" written on its sides. There were small prizes to be won. The young people from the TfJ had asked to dance at the end. What a joy for me!!! So we ended the Hanukkah celebration with a few Israeli dances. A wonderful evening came to an end.