- April 18, 2024
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Temple Beth Shalom hosted a latka party Sunday, Dec. 18, to kick off the Hanukkah holiday, which officially began Tuesday, Dec. 20.
The pre-holiday celebration featured music by the temple’s Hebrew students, who just learned what Hanukkah is all about.
“Without them, we cannot continue our history, our tradition, and we cannot continue being a Jewish people as a race,” said Hebrew teacher Larissa Feinberg. “I think this is our future.”
The students shared the history they learned about the holiday: Three years after the Greeks had conquered Israel, in 140 B.C., they brought statues of the Greek gods into the temple in Jerusalem. This caused a rebellion by the Jewish people. They defeated the Greeks, and took back the land; however, the temple had been defiled. In the temple was a candelabra with oil sufficient to burn one day.
“The miracle that happened was that until new oil could be brought, that one vial, instead of lasting one day, lasted eight days,” said Martin Schulberg, celebration coordinator. “So oil becomes a central part of the holiday. Latkas, potato pancakes, are made with oil.”
But Schulberg said there is a broader reason this holiday is important, as this was the first time in recorded history that people rebelled for religious freedom.
