Chanukah

Community-Wide Events

Virtual Community Candle-Lighting
Tuesday, November 30, 6:00-6:30 PM
Zoom link
Togetherness overcomes isolation, as we celebrate the miracle of remaining in community. Bring a chanukiah (menorah) to light in your Zoom window as we enjoy a brief program of singing and illumination.  

Sufganiyot and Schmooze
Saturday, December 4, 12:00 PM
Location: outside Hebrew Tabernacle, 185th St. and Fort Washington Ave.
Drop by after Shabbat morning services for a delicious doughnut and community time on the sidewalk.

Share the Light Parade with the Heights Jewish Community
Sunday, December 5, 5:00-6:00 PM
Location: Fort Tryon Park to Bennett Park
A light parade from Fort Tryon Park's Cafe Lawn to Bennett Park with awe-inspiring homemade lanterns celebrating Chanukah and culminating with a public lighting of the chanukiah (Chanukah menorah), singing, sufganiyot (Chanukah doughnuts), and lots of fun! Register for the parade here.

Opportunities to create your own lantern art to be used in the Share the Light parade -- Lanterns will be produced under the guidance of the Y's art expert. No previous experience necessary. Lantern crafting will take place masked and indoors. Bring your creativity and help us share the light!
Ages 10 and up: Join one of several community lantern making sessions. Check out the dates and register here.
Ages under 10 - make lanterns before the parade at 4:30 PM, Cafe Lawn in Fort Tryon Park, Please click here to register!

This event is co-sponsored by The Beis, Beth Am The People’s Temple, Camp Twelve Trails, Fort Tryon Jewish Center, Hebrew Harlem Charter School, Hebrew Tabernacle, Mt. Sinai Jewish Center,  PJ Library @ the Y, the Shenk Shul, Twenty-Somethings Minyan, and the YM&YWHA of Washington Heights & Inwood.
 

Classes for Adults

Cooking Fried Food: The Miracle of Oil!
Monday, November 22, 6:30-7:30 PM
Zoom
Join our chef Jack Greene as he teaches us how to make two delicious, fried meals for Chanukah! First up is a potato casserole with green chili and cheese, followed by a vegan tempura mushroom dish with miso-tomato sauce. This class will also be streamed live to FTJC's Facebook group.

What Makes Chanukah Dangerous?
Tuesday, November 23, 8:15-9:30 PM
Zoom
Learning and discussion with Rabbi Guy Austrian. Shining our Chanukah lights for all to see is a cherished way of publicizing the miracle and affirming a proud Jewish identity. But according to the Talmud, "in a time of danger" it's enough to light the lamp on a table inside. What constitutes a time of danger? In such a time, is it better to cover up or to insist on visibility? What about wearing items that identify us as Jews in public? We'll look at halachic and historical sources, and explore our own tensions around safety, visibility, and the era we are living through now.

Spiritual Themes of Tevet
Monday, December 6, 8:00-9:15 PM
Zoom
Around each Rosh Chodesh, the start of the Jewish month, FTJC Student Clergy Intern Naomi Zaslow will be offering a mix of text learning and reflective practices, to explore major themes and spiritual modalities of the month. This month, just as Chanukah ends, join Naomi to explore the new month of Tevet. Register here by Wed Dec 1st to get a prop for the event delivered to you! If it's after Dec 1st, bring whatever art supplies you have on hand to our Zoom room.

Rimonim: Youth & Families Celebrations

At-Home Resources
Rimonim is excited to offer at-home resources, including recipes, crafts, and activities for children of all ages. Please click here to view a song sheet, featuring Chanukah songs in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Ladino. Lyrics and links are provided for whichever songs may be new to your family! 

Zera’im (Newborn to 3 years old)
For a fun sensory experience, try painting Handprint Menorahs as a family! Create a Glowing Pathway in your home as a way to transition from one night of Chanukah to the next! Enjoy a veggie-friendly alternative to all the delicious fried sweets we eat on Chanukah - Zucchini Sticks!

Nitzanim (pre-K - 2nd Grade)
Kick off Chanukah with some seriously funny Mad Libs and have the opportunity to retell the Chanukah story a little differently this year. Make something beautiful together that lasts with a Clay Menorah! Great project for siblings to collaborate with and the possibilities are endless! Play with light while baking (and eating!) these Stained Glass Cookies.

Shorashim (3rd-5th Grade)
Learn about Chag HaBanot as a family and honor different women ancestors, elders, relatives leaders, friends and more through candle-lighting as a family. Celebrate Chanukah heroine Judith by cooking up and sharing cheese-stuffed pancakes from the Syrian-Jewish and Arab world at large, Qatayef. Create colorful Chanukah collage cards to share with the community or prints to decorate inside!

Anafim (6th-8th Grade)
Learn about this history of Caribbean Jewery through making a Secret Menorah.Continue your learning and mix up your fried food game by cooking up some Fried Plantains. Keep your eyes peeled for a Havdalah Hang later this month at Hebrew Tabernacle's Penthouse!

Prayer Services

Shabbat Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh Tevet
Saturday, December 4, 9:30 AM
Hebrew Tabernacle Social Hall, 1st floor (enter on Fort Washington Ave. at 185th St.)
A full morning with three Torah scrolls, Parashat Miketz, plus Full Hallel, special Torah readings for Chanukah and Rosh Chodesh, and a special Haftarah for Shabbat Chanukah. A wide range of children's services and learning on Chanukah and Shabbat themes!
Covid-19 safety protocols for this service are still to come.