Hanukkah arrives with North Jersey Jews defiant, somber in shadow of Israel-Hamas war

In Clifton last week, Steve Goldberg's Hanukkah conundrum was burning him up like a lit candle: Should he display multiple menorahs in his front window or just one massive enough to catch everybody's attention?

In Dobbs Ferry, New York, Beth Blank Dunn had no qualms about going all out for the Jewish holiday, which begins on Thursday night. With a menorah in every window and blue and white inflatables dominating her front yard, "I was a little over the top," she admitted. "I wanted to be more out there about my Jewishness."

In Teaneck, Janet Hod's impressive outdoor Hanukkah display came bigger and earlier in the season than usual, a defiant response to local protests of Israel's actions in Gaza.

"There's too much rage out there, and we need to remove that from the world," she said. "I want to show everyone that even if we are different, we can live together and appreciate each other's differences. We need to spread the light."

In Alpine, a tiny Bergen County community that tries to stay out of the headlines, a menorah-lighting ceremony will be held on public property at one of the town's three stoplights, marking a first in the borough's 120-year-history, said Mayor Paul Tomasko.

Celebrating in the shadow of Oct. 7

After the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas on Israel and reports of rising antisemitism around the globe, Hannukah this year carries an extra resonance for the Jewish community in the tristate area. The holiday lights will shine bright amid one of the darkest periods in recent Jewish history.

As Jews begin the eight-day festival by lighting the first candle on their menorahs, many will be thinking about the over 1,200 people in Israel who were killed, scores wounded and 240 hostages taken captive by Hamas. Some 100 hostages have since been released, though dozens — including 19-year-old Tenafly High School grad Edan Alexander — still remain captive. Another North Jersey native, Paramus-born Itay Glisko, 20, was killed in the initial attack.

Israel has launched a counteroffensive aimed at destroying Hamas that has killed roughly 15,900 Palestinians, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported.

"It will be difficult to celebrate with a whole heart because of what is going on in Israel and around the world," said Rabbi Joel Pitkowsky, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Sholom, a conservative synagogue in Teaneck. "Celebrating now seems a bit tone-deaf to the current situation, and yet should we allow our enemies or those who wish to do us harm dictate how we are going to mark time as Jews? We cannot give them that victory."

What's Hanukkah all about?: Eight things to know about the eight-day holiday

The notion of celebration amid sorrow is familiar terrain for Jews, whose holidays — including Hanukkah, Purim and Passover — often remind them to be resilient against those who seek to destroy them.

What does Hanukkah celebrate?

Hanukkah recalls the revolt of the Jews against their Syrian-Greek oppressors who invaded Israel some 2,200 years ago. The holiday recalls the story of the Maccabees, a band of poorly armed Jews who recaptured control of Israel. When they went to rededicate their temple in Jerusalem, legend has it, they found enough oil to light the temple menorah for just one day but it miraculously continued burning for eight days.

Jews celebrate that triumph by eating foods cooked in oil, such a potato latkes and sufganiyot, or jelly doughnuts.

For many observant Jews, Hanukkah is generally considered a minor holiday. But this year, outrage over the Hamas attack seems to have inspired a spiritual revival in the community, rabbis say.

In a survey last month by Chabad, a Hasidic Jewish movement, 211 rabbis around the U.S. said they had seen increased interest and attendance at synagogue events and services, including from people had never previously identified as Jews. "We are seeing an inspired Jewish community that is doubling down on their identity even when fearful," said Rabbi Motti Seligson a spokesman for Chabad Lubavitch in New York.

Reform congregations across North America have seen a similar uptick since Oct. 7, said Laura Frank, a spokeswoman for the Union for Reform Judaism. As have conservative temples, said Andi Kahclamat, a spokesperson for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

"We are hearing from many people who have an increased interest in being more involved with community, which translates to greater synagogue attendance and reconnecting with Judaism," Kahclamat said.

The organization launched a #BeAMaccabee campaign on Instagram to celebrate Jewish pride. Participants were asked to post symbols of their Jewish faith on the platform "so that we will see social media flooded with Jewish pride over Hannukah," Kahclamat said.

Rabbi Mordechai Shain, leader of Chabad on the Palisades in Tenafly, said his synagogue has been filling up on weekdays in addition to the Sabbath. Several worshippers have asked for instructions on installing the decorative prayer scrolls known as mezuzas outside their homes or on donning the religious garb known as tefillin. "They realize that they need to connect to their roots," Shain said. "That's where our strength lies."

"A lot of the people have told me that for the first time, they don't feel safe," he said. "They always heard stories about Jewish in Germany and Russia from their parents and grandparents. Now they say we have to stick together as Jews. This Hanukkah there will be many more people putting up menorahs. We need to show the world we are proud of who we are."

Jews are somber, defiant

In Clifton, Goldberg, 60, a conservative Jew who started wearing a yarmulke in public in protest of antisemitism, said some Jews are afraid to display holiday symbols this year. But the longtime educator was defiant.

"We can't allow others to scare us out of being Jewish," he said.

In the end, he opted to put an array of menorahs in his window "both for reasons of pride and in memory of those we lost," he said.

More: North Jersey Jews face a divide as some speak out against Israeli policies

Dunn, the Dobbs Ferry woman, agreed. "My great grandparents were Holocaust survivors," she said. The self-described "conservative/reform Jew" said she lost customers at her personal training business over the unabashed display at her home, which included an Israeli flag.

But like the Maccabees in the Hannukah story, she won't surrender.

Her great-grandfather was bitter not only about the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews but also about "all of those who remained silent," she said.

"I made him a promise that I would never be silent."

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: First night of Hanukkah arrives with NJ Jews feeling somber, defiant