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Asking an Internet search engine “Holidays during Winter” lead to at least seventeen: Diwali; Thanksgiving; Boxing Day; Krampus Night; Las Posadas; Ganna; Makar Sankranti; Chanukah; Three Kings Day, also known as Epiphany; Winter Solstice; St. Lucia Day; St. Nicholas Day; Christmas; Kwanzaa; Solar New Year; Lunar New Year; Mardi Gras. Many of them originated in the Northern Hemisphere, when the shortest amount of daylight occurs. In Pittsburgh, the briefest amount of light will be on December 20 - nine hours, sixteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds. We yearn for June 20, when there is fifteen hours and four minutes of daylight, not to mention fifty or sixty degrees warmer.  This differential and the desire for more light makes it unsurprising that winter festivals frequently associated with light developed. And of course I haven’t mentioned our propensity for greater imagination when it is dark out, for unexplainable phenomena and things that go bump in the night.

Chanukah can and must be different this year for the Jewish community. The increase in antisemitism coupled with the war in Gaza and the incremental release of hostages while the enemies of Israel and the Jewish people deafen us with their voices demands one response. Do more Jewish!

The heart of Chanukah is the story of a religious minority in its own land, despite the ignorant who call us colonists, reclaiming the universal right to practice its religion in freedom. A jury and judge reaffirmed our right to do so in the United States on August 3, 2023. Our response cannot be to cower in caves under our homes like the Marranos did during the Spanish Inquisition, fearful of being caught, tortured and put to death.  We must also show our solidarity with our Israeli brothers and sisters, that we are one people regardless of where we live. Lighting the Chanukah menorah this year is an imperative, the ultimate act in defiance of those who wish we would vanish.

Gathering as a community provides us with the rich reward of support and bonding, and Tree of Life will be offering a number of opportunities to do so. Please look over the eTree carefully for these events, but permit me to mention two. Friday evening, December 8, will feature a Chanukah celebration before, during and after services. There will be a latke bar at 6:00PM, an instrumental service to follow, and an Oneg Shabbat after services with sufganiyot(jelly doughnuts) and a Chanukah sing-along. Saturday evening, December 9, at 6:00PM we will gather at the corner of Shady and Wilkins to chant Havdalah and then light our outdoor Chanukah menorah. You may recall that in the aftermath of 10.27, a generous individual donated this menorah, which we proudly lit that year, and every year since.  It is our statement to the entire world that, to paraphrase Peter Yarrow, we won’t let the light go out. We refuse to let evil triumph. We light this special Chanukah menorah to dispel darkness and H, to unequivocally state that it is unwelcome not just in Squirrel Hill, not just in Pittsburgh, but anywhere.  It is far easier to stay home that night then to bundle up and be outdoor for a bit. As the Yiddish expression goes, Shvertz a Zeiner Yid - it’s not easy being Jewish. But bundling up and standing tall with your Tree of Life community is exactly what we must do.  I will be there.  Who will be there for you?