By Ceoli Jacoby

The Jewish community at the University of Maryland gathered together each night from Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 to celebrate Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights.

The festival commemorates a successful revolt by the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebels who reclaimed Judea from the Seleucid Empire in the second century BCE. 

Under Hellinistic rule, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated. After liberating the Temple, the Maccabees sought to light the menorah: a sacred candelabrum. While the Maccabees could only salvage enough oil to last one night, the menorah miraculously remained lit for eight.

In honor of this miracle, Jews light their own menorahs during Hanukkah — adding an additional candle each night. Traditionally, people eat fried foods such as latkes, or potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, or filled donuts. Children may also play dreidel — a game that involves spinning a top with a different Hebrew letter on each side indicating how many gelt, or chocolate coins, the player wins or loses.

“Hanukkah provides a sense of inspiration and light and hope not just for the Jewish community, but for the entire University of Maryland community,” President Darryl Pines said at a menorah lighting in front of McKeldin library on Monday, Nov. 29.

Throughout the festival, the Bais Menachem Chabad Jewish Student Center and the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Hillel Center for Jewish Life hosted celebrations across campus. Chabad leadership lit a 10-foot menorah in various locations, sponsored parties for small groups and distributed menorahs, candles and hot food. Hillel put on a “Spin Love, Not Hate” event in the Ritchie Coliseum on the final night of Hanukkah, Dec. 5, to facilitate cross-cultural and interfaith dialogues in the wake of recent hate bias incidents. 

“Unity and coming together is a central message of Hanukkah, which is all about resilience and working against all odds to make sure that there’s light spread around the world,” Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Ari Israel said.

Several student organizations also devised their own programming. The Jewish Student Union invited community members to make their own latkes on Nov. 29. Mezumenet, a Jewish a cappella group, performed at Congregation Shaare Tefilah’s community celebration in Olney, Maryland.

Ometz at UMD, a conservative congregation; and Shira at UMD, an organization specialising in egalitarian camp-style services, joined forces on Dec. 4 for Hanukkah Havdalah. This event combined the weekly closing ceremony for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, and the nightly menorah lighting. 

Lanie Berger is a sophomore business management and Jewish Studies double-major. She also serves as a member of the Ometz gabbinate — a group of student volunteers who assist with religious services. During Hanukkah Havdalah, she led congregants in song with her guitar. Attendees stood in a circle to sing liturgical music such as Ma’oz Tzur, the poem on which “Rock of Ages” is based, as well as contemporary classics like “Oh Hanukkah” and “I Have a Little Dreidel.”

This year marked Berger’s first Hanukkah away from home. 

“It’s felt a little weird because I haven’t been able to light a menorah every night, but I did get to see some of my family on the first night,” she said. “It all kind of worked out.”

Natalie Isen, a freshman majoring in neuroscience, was able to spend the first night of Hanukkah with her family in Chicago — where she travelled to celebrate Thanksgiving. 

“I love the spirit in the air when the holidays fall around the same time,” she said. “I love being with the whole Jewish community, and I love that holidays bring everyone together.”

Featured image: Lit menorahs adorned the entrance to Hillel each night during Hanukkah. Photo by Ceoli Jacoby.