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Festival of Lights celebrates a miracle | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle
Hanukkah is a festive time at the Spanjer household. The Festival of Lights is marked with events at school, a community party and traditions at home.
But most importantly, "we're celebrating a miracle," says Al Spanjer, who lives in Brighton with his wife, Carolyn Stern Spanjer, daughter Zippy, 13, and sons Ben, 10, and Toby, 7.
Hanukkah celebrates the miraculous military victory of the smaller Jewish army over the Greek Syrians, who had banned the Jewish religion and desecrated the Temple, and the miracle of the small amount of oil that kept the Temple's eternal light burning for eight days instead of just one.
Hanukkah is one of the most joyous times of the Jewish year. The festival begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which falls on a different day each year on the Western calendar, and commemorates the victory in 165 B.C. of the Jews against their oppressors and the rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem. This year, it started at sunset Friday.
It's also a festival to celebrate religious freedom, says Zippy Spanjer, who eagerly shares her knowledge of Judaic history. All three children attend Hillel Community Day School in Brighton, where Judaic studies are part of the curriculum. Growing up in Smithtown, Suffolk County, and Washington, D.C., Carolyn Stern Spanjer, a family physician who is deaf, had always wanted to go to a Jewish day school but was not able to attend.
"I always wanted to know more," says Stern Spanjer of Judaism. "That's why we send them to Jewish day school. It gives me a lot of pleasure that they know their history."
Unlike the period of the High Holy Days during the fall season that emphasizes the personal and reflective aspects of the religion, Hanukkah is a celebration.
"We celebrate religion; we also celebrate family," Al Spanjer says.
Light is very important during this time of the year. The family lights a menorah for eight nights with candles; one on the first night and an additional one each succeeding night, so that the last night has eight lights. The Spanjers are observant Jews. They belong to the Sephardic Congregation Light of Israel in Rochester.
There are 22,000 Jews in the greater Rochester area, says Isobel Goldman, director of community relations at Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester. While it is a time to celebrate, there is a focus on giving, Goldman says. Giving is a tenet of the Jewish religion year-round and is just as important at Hanukkah. It often starts young with tzedakah boxes at schools and homes so children learn to give their spare change in the box for the needy in the local and global communities.
Giving to those who are less fortunate is a strong value in the Jewish culture, says Rabbi Matthew Field of Temple Beth El in Rochester. While the parents may give the children gifts during the Hanukkah season, they may also take the opportunity to teach kids about the spirit of giving by taking the children to buy a gift for a needy family, he says.
Hanukkah is a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, but a joyous one, Field says.
"It's largely a home-celebrated holiday," he says, noting the only synagogue events at Temple Beth El during the season are school-related. The synagogue will sometimes host Hanukkah dinners and there is a large community Hanukkah celebration on Thursday at Kango Play Center in Henrietta, Field says.
Children will be children and they do get excited about opening presents, Al Spanjer says. But the importance of history and tradition is passed on to the children during the season.
Ben talks about playing dreidel, a four-sided spinning top often associated with Hanukkah celebrations. Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces that could be money, gelt (chocolate gold coins) or raisins.
At the beginning of the round, every player puts one game piece into the pot. Each player spins the dreidel once during his or her turn. Depending on which side is facing up when it stops, the player gives or takes game pieces from the pot.
If nun is facing up, the player does nothing. If it's gimmel, the player gets everything in the pot. If hey is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. With shin, the player adds a game piece to the pot.
Money is not used in dreidel games at the Spanjer household. The family uses nuts or raisins, Al Spanjer says.
What's a festival without good food? Fried foods are prevalent during Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days.
During the next week, the Spanjers will indulge in homemade latkes, or potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, which are jelly doughnuts.
Hanukkah is a festive time at the Spanjer household. The Festival of Lights is marked with events at school, a community party and traditions at home.
But most importantly, "we're celebrating a miracle," says Al Spanjer, who lives in Brighton with his wife, Carolyn Stern Spanjer, daughter Zippy, 13, and sons Ben, 10, and Toby, 7.
Hanukkah celebrates the miraculous military victory of the smaller Jewish army over the Greek Syrians, who had banned the Jewish religion and desecrated the Temple, and the miracle of the small amount of oil that kept the Temple's eternal light burning for eight days instead of just one.
Hanukkah is one of the most joyous times of the Jewish year. The festival begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which falls on a different day each year on the Western calendar, and commemorates the victory in 165 B.C. of the Jews against their oppressors and the rededication of the Temple at Jerusalem. This year, it started at sunset Friday.
It's also a festival to celebrate religious freedom, says Zippy Spanjer, who eagerly shares her knowledge of Judaic history. All three children attend Hillel Community Day School in Brighton, where Judaic studies are part of the curriculum. Growing up in Smithtown, Suffolk County, and Washington, D.C., Carolyn Stern Spanjer, a family physician who is deaf, had always wanted to go to a Jewish day school but was not able to attend.
"I always wanted to know more," says Stern Spanjer of Judaism. "That's why we send them to Jewish day school. It gives me a lot of pleasure that they know their history."
Unlike the period of the High Holy Days during the fall season that emphasizes the personal and reflective aspects of the religion, Hanukkah is a celebration.
"We celebrate religion; we also celebrate family," Al Spanjer says.
Light is very important during this time of the year. The family lights a menorah for eight nights with candles; one on the first night and an additional one each succeeding night, so that the last night has eight lights. The Spanjers are observant Jews. They belong to the Sephardic Congregation Light of Israel in Rochester.
There are 22,000 Jews in the greater Rochester area, says Isobel Goldman, director of community relations at Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester. While it is a time to celebrate, there is a focus on giving, Goldman says. Giving is a tenet of the Jewish religion year-round and is just as important at Hanukkah. It often starts young with tzedakah boxes at schools and homes so children learn to give their spare change in the box for the needy in the local and global communities.
Giving to those who are less fortunate is a strong value in the Jewish culture, says Rabbi Matthew Field of Temple Beth El in Rochester. While the parents may give the children gifts during the Hanukkah season, they may also take the opportunity to teach kids about the spirit of giving by taking the children to buy a gift for a needy family, he says.
Hanukkah is a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, but a joyous one, Field says.
"It's largely a home-celebrated holiday," he says, noting the only synagogue events at Temple Beth El during the season are school-related. The synagogue will sometimes host Hanukkah dinners and there is a large community Hanukkah celebration on Thursday at Kango Play Center in Henrietta, Field says.
Children will be children and they do get excited about opening presents, Al Spanjer says. But the importance of history and tradition is passed on to the children during the season.
Ben talks about playing dreidel, a four-sided spinning top often associated with Hanukkah celebrations. Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces that could be money, gelt (chocolate gold coins) or raisins.
At the beginning of the round, every player puts one game piece into the pot. Each player spins the dreidel once during his or her turn. Depending on which side is facing up when it stops, the player gives or takes game pieces from the pot.
If nun is facing up, the player does nothing. If it's gimmel, the player gets everything in the pot. If hey is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. With shin, the player adds a game piece to the pot.
Money is not used in dreidel games at the Spanjer household. The family uses nuts or raisins, Al Spanjer says.
What's a festival without good food? Fried foods are prevalent during Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days.
During the next week, the Spanjers will indulge in homemade latkes, or potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, which are jelly doughnuts.