Jewish Festival of Lights Begins at Sundown
“Hanukkah for our family is about celebrating triumph over adversity and remembering when you have courage to take action on what you believe in…miracles are possible.”
By Lisa Pett
At sundown on Tuesday night, the celebration of Hanukkah begins.
Jewish families in Stevens Point will begin the holiday by lighting the traditional candles in the menorah and saying prayers, children will play with dreidels and receive small gifts of chocolate coins.
Jewish holidays are set according to the Hebrew calendar. The Hebrew calendar is a lunar one so the holidays shift, with Hanukkah usually falling between late November and December. This year, Hanukkah begins on December 16th and ends on December 24th.
“Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday but it is one of the most well known outside of Judaism due to its proximity to Christmas,” said Shanny Luft, Professor of Religious Studies at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
The eight-nights-long celebration commemorates the second century Jewish victory over the Seleucid Empire and the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem. The word “Hanukkah,” in fact, means “dedication.”
According to Luft, in 167 B.C. the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was looted and the practice of Judaism outlawed. The temple was looted and subsequently desecrated by the sacrifice of non-kosher animals. During this time, Jews were forced to hide from the Seleucids and children were forbidding from learning from the Torah scrolls. They devised a game using dreidels, which are small spinning tops inscribed with letters from the Hebrew alphabet, so the children could continue their learning under the noses of occupying soldiers.
The Jews revolted and retook the city and the temple. The story says that the temple, after being cleansed, only had enough sacred oil to light the menorah for one night. However, that oil burned, miraculously for eight nights, until a new supply could be obtained. This is why the menorah holds eight candles, one for each night of the celebration. It is also why many of the traditional Hanukkah foods, like latkes (potato pancakes) are fried in oil.
Sometimes mistaken for the “Jewish Christmas,” the holiday is about connecting with Jewish heritage and embracing the dedication to learning and family.
“Hanukkah for our family is about celebrating triumph over adversity and remembering when you have courage to take action on what you believe in…miracles are possible,” said Stevens Point resident Julee Duessing.
The Beth Israel Congregation in Stevens Point dissolved in 1986 and the synagogue turned over to the Portage County Historical Society to memorialize Stevens Point’s Jewish Community, according to Mark Seiler’s book, The Jewish Community of Stevens Point.
Rabbi Dan Danson of the Mt. Sinai Synagogue in Wausau says about twenty families from Stevens Point attend services and participate in programs and religious education classes there.