ORANGE, Ohio – Menorah Lighting Ceremony and “Eat” at Pinecrest. pray. Latkes’ Hanukkah Dinner December 8 Highlights Temple Emanu-El’s Hanukkah Event Schedule.
The event focuses on building connections across the community, according to a news release from Temple Emanu-El.
This year, Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights, begins at sunset on December 7th and ends at sunset on December 15th.
Temple Emanu-El had the honor of participating in an outdoor menorah lighting ceremony held over five nights in Pinecrest’s Central Park during Hanukkah. Pinecrest, a mixed-use district, is located just off the Harvard Road exit of Interstate 271.
The news release states that non-members are also welcome to attend the lighting ceremony. Participants will be provided with duck donut treats.
The Pinecrest lighting schedule is December 7th and December 10th at 5:30pm, December 11th and 12th at 6:30pm, and December 13th at 5:30pm.
A menorah lighting ceremony will be held at Temple Emanu-El, 4545 Brainerd Road, on Dec. 8 at 5:45 p.m. Participants will be asked to unveil their own menorah as a community.
Shabbat services begin immediately after the lighting of the menorah and will be performed by the Temple Emanu El Chai Band. The “Eat. Pray. Latkes” Hanukkah dinner is held after the service.
Non-members are welcome to attend the lighting, worship, and dinner. Reservations are required for dinner.
To register for the dinner, email Judi Roseman at jroseman@teecleve.org or visit www.tinyurl.com/TEEHanukkah23 by December 4th. The cost is $15 for adults (ages 15 and older) and $7 for children (ages 3-14). . Maximum cost per family household is $50.
Lenny Dellafranconi, executive director of Temple Emanu-El, said this is the fourth year the temple has held a menorah lighting ceremony at Pinecrest.
“The story of Hanukkah is a story of light and hope,” she said. “It is important now that we come together and share this message with our community.”
DellaFranconi added that as a Jewish community, it is important for temple members and others to pray together, socialize and support each other.
“There are many people within the Jewish community who are very concerned and distressed about the state of Israel and its people,” she said. “They may have someone they love.
“We just want to be able to support each other as much as we can.”
The eight-day festival of Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, a small group of Jewish warriors who rebelled against the rampant advances of Hellenism (Greek culture) by the Seleucids in 168 BC.
It also recalls the cleansing and rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Lighting the eight-branched menorah recalls his miracle of a small vial of oil lasting eight days in the rededicated temple.