TAMPA, Fla. — Many things have been celebrated online this year: birthdays, weddings, big holidays like Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will be no different.
"Each night we're going to be lighting candles. It's not something you have to have other people to do, but we know a lot of people are at home alone and it would be really nice to have a community with them," said Rabbi Joel Simon of Congregation Schaarai Zedek.
His synagogue traditionally hosts a large Hanukkah party at Armature Works but instead is hosting a series of online events for the holiday.
Even in Israel, a curfew was enacted for the duration of Hanukkah to encourage people to stay home and limit the spread of COVID-19.
"This is a time where we might have programming in public spaces...We're really encouraging people to refrain from large gatherings. This is a year to return to the living room roots and celebrate with your family," said Simon. Hanukkah is actually a more minor holiday in the Jewish faith, but has become well-known and more widely celebrated because of its proximity to Christmas time.
Events hosted by Congregation Schaarai Zedek can be found here.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is also known as 'The Festival of Lights.' It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
According to Chabad.org, the land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance. A small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it.
When they sought to light the Temple's Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.
To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah.
How is Hanukkah celebrated?
Now, families celebrate Hanukkah by lighting their Hanukkah Menorah or Hanukkiah (which has nine candlesticks), eating fried foods like latkes or jelly-filled donuts to celebrate the oil lasting eight days and playing with the dreidel.
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