Children dashed for falling candy coins, adults mingled and munched on rugelach and all delighted in the lighting of the first candle on the menorah at Esther Short Park Tuesday evening, the first night of Hanukkah.
Clark County’s Chabad Jewish Center put on the event, which drew a large crowd to the plaza beneath Esther Short Park’s clock tower.
Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg of Chabad Jewish Center said a big idea with the holiday is to make sure the festive spirit of Hanukkah is shared outwardly, not just in the home.
“Light over darkness, good over bad, and we want to bring it to the public,” he said.
Victory celebration
The eight-night festival marks the victory of the underdog Jewish Maccabees over the Greek-Syrian Seleucid Empire, which had conquered Israel, and the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem.
In the second century B.C., as the story goes, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus outlawed Judaism and commanded a statue to Zeus be erected at the temple at Jerusalem.
This sparked a revolt, which saw the Maccabees drive Seleucids from Israel. The Jews then set about to rededicate the temple, but found they only had enough ritual oil to burn at the menorah for one night.
Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight nights. To commemorate the Maccabees’ victory and the miracle of the oil, the Jews of Israel instituted the festival of Hanukkah.
Each night of the eight-day holiday, households light another candle on the eight-stemmed (often with an extra ninth, called the shamash, or “helper” candle). Many also recite special blessings, sing songs and play games, among other traditions.
What Antiochus was trying to do, Greenberg told the crowd, was sever the connection between Jews and Jerusalem, which they hold sacred.
“When a Jewish child here in Clark County, here in Vancouver … he or she, lighting the menorah, they’re celebrating Hanukkah the same way their parents celebrate, and grandparents, and great-grandparents, for many years, till the time of (the first) Hanukkah,” he said. “What they’re celebrating is this connection to Jerusalem, the rededication of the temple.”
Special guest and Clark County Councilor Marc Boldt lit the center candle of the menorah and praised the contributions of the Jewish community and faith to American history.
Following the ceremony, blessings and after Greenberg dropped chocolate candy coins, called the Hanukkah gelt, from atop a cherry picker for the children, the crowd moved to the Hilton Vancouver Washington, where they enjoyed traditional Jewish treats, live music, crafts and company.
Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, continues to the evening Dec. 20.
