Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

Kamloops Jewish Community celebrates start of Hanukkah

Dec 23, 2019 | 4:57 PM

KAMLOOPS — December 22nd was the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is celebrated for eight nights and commemorates the struggle of a small group of Jewish rebels in their fight against Syria in 165 BCE. For around 80 families in Kamloops, Sunday night was the start of that celebration of the season.

It’s a tradition older than Christmas. On Sunday night, people of the Jewish faith around the world began the celebration of Hanukkah, an eight-day festival that, for many, falls during the coldest, darkest nights of the year.

“In a tiny little nutshell, [the story of Hanukkah] is really about the miracle of something that should have only lasted for one day,” Rabbi Marcy Gofsky explained.

There were several dozen people at the Kamloops Jewish Community’s Hanukkah celebration. Like any holiday gathering, there’s an essential element that helps tie everyone together in worship:

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“Food. And festivity, and thankfulness and gratefulness,” Rabbi Gofsky said. “[It’s about] spending time with one another, much like Christmas. The thing with Hanukkah is it hasn’t been commercialized in the same way.”

Each night, another candle on the menorah is lit, which signifies another night that the Maccabees’ dwindling oil supplies held out. But for many modern followers of Judaism, spending time with those you love is the real meaning of Hanukkah.

“The key part is having the opportunity to spend time with family and making those moments miracle moments,” Rabbi Gofsky said.