On Sunday 18 December 2022, Jews across the globe celebrated the Jewish Festival of Lights, ‘Chanukah’, playing fun games with their friends and families, spinning dreidels, eating latkes and donuts, and lighting the first of eight candles of their menorah.
Rabbi and Rebbetzin Efune of Chabad Lubavitch Brighton have hosted a public menorah lighting in Brighton and Hove for several years, to bring the Jewish Community of East Sussex together to celebrate and spread the light. Chabad is a global movement to help educate and unite jewish people irrespective of denomination or level of religious observance.
This year, shortly after the World Cup Final, over 100 jews gathered in Palmeira Square, Hove, despite the heavy rain and cold, to witness the lighting of the giant menorah, which was led by Rabbi Pesach Efune. Mayor Lizzie Deane helped light the first candle and joined the community for freshly baked donuts, warm latkes (fried potato cakes) and live entertainment.
The festival is a reminder to a time over 2,000 years ago, when the Jews won a battle against the Greeks to practise their religion freely. The Greeks had banned all Jewish rituals. King Antiochus tried to make Jewish people bow down in front of a statue of him that had been put in the Jewish temple, and pray to Greek Gods, but they refused.
A small group of Jews called the Maccabees fought, the Greeks and after a three-year war, they won; however, the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) had been destroyed. After the victory, the temple was restored and a celebration was held, an oil lamp was lit in it. There was only enough oil to burn the flame for one day, but miraculously it burned for eight days. This is why the Chanukah festival lasts for eight days and why light is really important in the celebration.
At its core, Chanukah recounts a story at the heart of the human spirit, one that is inherently Jewish. It commemorates how even the most fragile flame can sustain a tradition and nourish the soul of a people. It teaches us that even a little bit of light, wherever it is found, can dispel the darkness and illuminate a path forward.
