KINGSTON – When the sun set Sunday, the lights started to glow on the front lawn of Congregation Emanuel of the Hudson Valley.
Sundown marked the beginning of Hanukkah, and congregation members gathered for the first lighting of the menorah, symbol of the faith needed to sustain life during the darkest part of the year.
“Christians bring light. Kwanzaa brings light,” said Rabbi Yael Romer. “And in Judaism this is our way of bringing light in a very dark time of time year.”
Congregants has been gathering here for 165 years to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah, a tradition that dates to two centuries prior to the birth of Christ when a rebel Jewish army, known as the Maccabees stood up against Syrians and Greeks in Jerusalem for two years.
“The Syrians had outlawed Judaism. They made a decision that everyone had to be Hellenistic,”said Romer. “For several years, they were a resistance army. And they fought a very enormous Syrian army. The Maccabees held off the Syrians and Greeks and returned to a desecrated temple. They cleaned it up and wanted to dedicate the temple. “
“Hanukkah means dedication,” said Romer.
And for the eight days of Hanukkah, a candle is lit for each of those days to celebrate the fable of how a day’s supple of oil, during that struggle, lasted eight days. It also celebrates the idea of the tolerance and acceptance of others and their faiths.
“Even in those days, there were dark forces of individuals who thought that they know better what someone’s faith should be,” said Romer. “This is a time for us as Jews and as Americans. What makes our nation great is that we do not just permit, but we sustain difference. We celebrate difference. We do not believe one faith is better than another.”
