The Island’s Jewish communities gathered the past several days to reflect on and celebrate the season of light during a series of public menorah lightings marking the festival of Hanukkah.
During one lighting by the Chabad on the Vineyard, Sunday at Owen Park, a celebratory mood was in the air as children bounced around in an inflatable castle, chased bubbles, and had their faces painted while a live band played on the beach. The ceremony culminated with the lighting of a 10-foot menorah overlooking Vineyard Haven Harbor, followed by a dazzling fire show.
On Friday, the M.V. Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven also held a lighting, with a live band, food, and song.
This year, the first night of Hanukkah fell on Christmas Day, meaning the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar aligns with Dec. 25 of the Gregorian, a rare event that last occurred in 2005. Since 1900, the overlap has only occurred five times: 1910, 1921, 1959, 2005, and now in 2024.
The meaning of lighting the menorah, Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz of Chabad explained, is to illuminate the night; the candles act as a guide through darkness and hardship, and encourage others to serve as a light in someone else’s life.
“We all know people whose life is dark, it’s lonely and they are not in a great place, and we can be there for them,” said Alperowitz. “That’s the message that the menorah sends.”
At Owen Park Beach on Sunday night, five families, among the many whom Alperowitz considered to be “guiding lights” in the Chabad community, used an extra-long shamash — a helper candle — to reach and light five of the candles on the upper deck of the harbormaster’s office, illuminating the party from above. The eighth and final night of Hanukkah falls on Wednesday.
Alperowitz explained that the story behind the lighting of the menorah, as recounted in the Babylonian Talmud, dates back to the second century BCE. He explained that the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebel soldiers, fought to take back control of Judea and reasserted the Jewish religion. The Maccabees sought to reignite the menorah of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after reclaiming it. Despite only finding enough oil for one night, tradition holds that the menorah burned for eight nights.
“And that’s why we commemorate this miracle, the miracle of the oil, but in the broader sense, the memory of the victory over the Greeks,” he added, referring to the rulers at the time who emerged from the Macedonian Empire. “It symbolizes what they were fighting for, which was to be able to be proud of their identity and express their Jewish faith.”
Alperowitz, in his remarks, also reflected on the meaning of the biblical tale in the context of current events in Israel and Gaza.
“While we are doing this, while we are gathering here, our Jewish brothers and sisters are being held hostage in Gaza,” said Alperowitz at Sunday’s menorah lighting event. “We celebrate because we are confident just as God showed the Maccabees a stunning victory 2,200 years ago, we will see victory again, and celebrate the release of the hostages.”
The Chabad community will hold a final menorah lighting event for this Hanukkah in Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs, Wednesday, Jan. 1, starting at 4 pm.
On Friday, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven, Rabbi Caryn Broitman used the Yiddish word “freilach,” which means “joyous,” to describe the ceremony, which she said captures the true spirit of the season.
“The whole room was lit up with menorah lights,” Rabbi Broitman said.
Many families brought their own menorahs to light, and a larger, centralized menorah was lit by Chef Ting and Salley Cohn with traditional Shabbat candles.
Included in Friday’s event was a band, singing, and a dinner cooked by Chef Ting from Black Joy Food Love. “Everyone left with a smile,” she added
“The most important thing is that many people are feeling a lot of darkness in the world,” Broitman said. “Hanukkah is a holiday of hope, and the light is a symbol of hope. Each of us is a candle of this giant global menorah, and we all are trying to do good things and bring some hope and light into the world.”
