[ad_1]
(CNN) – Celebrating Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is a bright spot for Jews in an otherwise dark year. More than 1.5 million people have died from Covid-19 and countless events have been canceled. Rising coronavirus numbers have forced many Jews to cancel their traditional celebrations in favor of safer virtual events.
A light in the dark
One of the cornerstones of Hanukkah celebrations is lighting the menorah each of the eight nights of the holiday. Lighting the menorah reminds Alana Rudkin of Pittsburgh that a little light can dispel a lot of darkness.
“While we cannot come together in the traditional way to celebrate this year, it would encourage people to connect with their inner light, leaving room for self-reflection and growth,” Rudkin said.
Rudkin volunteers with The Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh, a Jewish community group that works to enrich the lives of youth and adults in the Pittsburgh area. The group normally celebrates Hanukkah in person, but this year its members are moving the celebrations online, including the menorah lights.
One of the virtual video highlights has a Disney theme, Rudkin said, which at past events featured Disney trivia and music.
Rudkin’s family celebrations have also changed due to the pandemic. She usually makes latkes, which are fried potato pancakes, with her family, and then invites her friends to share the meal.
“My dad made us grate potatoes by hand until our fingers bled,” Rudkin said.
He won’t be inviting friends this year, but he still plans to make latkes with his parents at home.
Family celebrations online
Last year, the family of New York City resident Lisa Gaetjens hosted a party for dozens of family and friends filled with traditional foods like latkes and sufganiyot, which are jelly-fried donuts.
His family decided to transition their party online this year, which Gaetjens says will be a smaller affair.
“It is very disappointing not being able to be physically with our families during this vacation, but it is also the best option,” said Gaetjens.
Her mother-in-law is coordinating food delivery to each attendee’s home so everyone can enjoy the same meal together.
Plans for the virtual celebration have not been finalized, but Gaetjens knows they will light the menorah that night. One activity that she hopes will be omitted is singing, which was a popular activity at the party in previous years.
Video calls often have an echo that makes it difficult for multiple voices to sync up, which is why “I don’t think we’ll sing much this year,” Gaetjens said.
Honoring traditions
Resident Rabbi Avram Mlotek of the Marlene Meyerson Jewish Community Center in New York City also has plans to move the celebrations virtually, with a latke cooking class and menorah lighting already scheduled online.
Meyerson believes that Jews are prepared to celebrate online because they had to do so early in the pandemic. “As Easter was approaching and we had to celebrate in isolation, I reminded people that actually the first Easter was also celebrated in a kind of quarantine,” Mlotek said.
In the Bible, Mlotek said, the angel of death swept through Jewish homes, but because they marked their homes and stayed inside, they were safe.
As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, Mlotek is no stranger to darkness and despair. He hopes to reach a broader audience of current and future generations of Jews to celebrate life and Hanukkah practically this year.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Hanukkah celebrations shine a light on a dark pandemic world.”
[ad_2]
