Rabinowitz: Hanukkah is a time for appreciating the journey of life

Matt Grahn, Norwich Bulletin
Updated ·2 min read

Beth Jacob Synagogue in Norwich marked the last night of Hanukkah Thursday by having an outdoor lighting ceremony. A large menorah with lightbulbs was lit outside, but traditional menorahs were lit inside, as the congregants sang and celebrated the holiday.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after forces led by Judah the Maccabee resisted the Seleucids. While there was only enough oil for the Temple’s menorah to last one night, it miraculously lasted eight nights, until new oil could be prepared, according to Chabad.org.

Hanukkah is also the holiday of light, which symbolically lights the darkness in the world. It also reminds people to see beyond physical things, and look at things we don’t see in our busy, everyday lives, Beth Jacob Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz said.

“All of us are rushing through life because we’re trying to get to that spot over there,” he said. “We don’t appreciate that fact that the journey is the important part.”

Beth Jacob Synagogue Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz (in front) leads the congregation during a menorah lighting ceremony on Thursday, the last day of Hanukkah this year.
Beth Jacob Synagogue Rabbi Julius Rabinowitz (in front) leads the congregation during a menorah lighting ceremony on Thursday, the last day of Hanukkah this year.

More: When is Hanukkah in 2023? A look at the history and why the holiday is celebrated.

The menorah lights also give meaning "when you’re in the pits of life,” and gives the Jewish community, and their friends, a reason to come together during the cold winter nights, Prior Beth Jacob President Alan Ruditzky said.

“It helps you go forward in a positive way,” he said. “So for that, we are very thankful, and we get to do that eight nights in a row.”

While the current conflict in Israel may be on people’s minds, it should not alter Hanukkah, as the holiday is meant to “address something more eternal than current events,” Rabinowitz said.

“I don't think I want to mix what happened on Oct. 7 with our holiday,” he said.

Anastasia Velasquez-Murray, 4, with her mother, Norwich resident Jessica Velasquez, putting the candles on a children's menorah.
Anastasia Velasquez-Murray, 4, with her mother, Norwich resident Jessica Velasquez, putting the candles on a children's menorah.

While the menorah candles were lit inside, 4-year-old Anastasia Velasquez-Murray and her mother, Norwich resident Anastasia Velasquez, also “lit” a plastic children’s menorah. While the two aren’t Jewish, it was important to Velasquez to teach her daughter about the Jewish faith of her great-grandfather Marc Kashar, who was there that night in a menorah hat, she said.

“We wanted to make sure we carry on the tradition and be respectful and celebrate the holiday with my grandpa, and her great-grandpa,” Velasquez said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Beth Jacob Synagogue in Norwich held menorah lighting ceremony