As the sun sets and Sabbath begins on Friday, Dec. 15, a tiny group of Lake County Jews, students and friends meet in an old Methodist Chruch social hall in Lower Lake. They have no synagogue or shul but, like others on every continent, Beit Chavurah gathers to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Its weekly Shabbat service (Sha-bot, accent on the last syllable, meaning “Sabbath” in Hebrew) of songs, prayers and readings is led by Richard Altman. San Francisco-born Altman is not an ordained rabbi; his experience mostly comes from years of services in synagogues as a musician and accompanist for cantors. His background colors the weekly service; is it warmly informal, welcoming, filled with music, song, and respect for his congregation”s differing education and attitudes toward a life of orthodoxy that he has encountered since he moved to Lake County 26 years ago.
“We have between 12 and 15 people on any given Shabbat service,” estimates Altman, not counting himself or his wife Linda. “We do have a considerable e-mail list that people use to follow our events and progress. Some people have had organized religion forced down their throats and choose to keep a distance, but they do come from time to time. We also have mixed marriages of Jews and non-Jewish couples, and they tend to attend together.”
But tonight is special and there may be a larger attendance. Hanukkah is special. It is a Jewish celebration deeply rooted in the ages, a celebration that commemorates the recapture of Jerusalem during a revolt from a Syrian-Greek empire in 165 BCE and a rededication of the holiest of places there, the Temple that honored the one God. Hanukkah means “dedication” but the holiday has also come to be known as “Festival of the Lights.” Spiritually, Hanukkah commemorates the miracle of the oil as recounted by the Talmud and in the Biblical books of Maccabees, and of the triumph of monotheism over Hellenistic paganism. When Judah Maccabee went to rededicate the altar of the Temple, there was found only enough ritual olive oil to burn for one night, but the lamps miraculously burned for eight days (the time it took to have new oil pressed and processed). In honor of the miracle, an eight-day (“and each day better and better” in the words of Anne Frank) Hanukkah tradition has evolved to light the eight candles of a menorah, one by one each evening. An extra candle ? a “shamash” or servant candle ? stands slightly higher in the center and is used to light the others because the Talmud prohibits using Hanukkah lights for anything other than publicizing, or meditating on, the Hanukkah story. Blessings are said over each evening”s candle lighting.
As ritual, candles (or oil lamps) are supposed to burn for a half-hour. Their light is for illuminating the exterior of the home, a light in the window perhaps, so that passers-by may see and be reminded of the miraculous events.
After the Shabbat service and the lighting of the first menorah candle, comes the party at Beit Chavurah. Hanukkah traditions call for fried or baked food, preferably in olive oil. Ashkenazi (Eastern European) family traditions call for potato pancakes called “latkes” in Yiddish on the menu. Sephardic family traditions call for deep-fried jelly doughnuts and other pastries fried in oil. There will be latkes, doughnuts and other traditional “goodies” at the Hanukkah social gathering, along with laughter, and good fellowship. Parents will bring “dreidels” (spinning tops with a Hebrew letter on each of its four sides) and Hannukah “gelt” (coins, now often chocolate coins covered in gold foil) for gambling which letter will show when the dreidel falls down.
“Our congregation reflects the philosophy of Hanukkah every day,” declares Altman. “Anyone who comes is welcome, if interested, if curious, if visiting friends and coming as guests ? they are all welcome. All we ever ask is that they be respectful of our ritual, and we have never had anyone attend who was not.”
Hannukah begins at sundown everywhere on the 25th day of Kislev (the Hebrew calendar) and concludes eight days later on the 25th day of Tevet. For more information on the Lake County congregation, go to www.beitchavurah.org.
