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We all know about lighting the Chanukah menorah during the evening of all eight days of Chanukah, but is that all there is to celebrating Chanukah? I’d like to suggest that there are many ways to do so beyond the lighting, which by itself is beautiful. Below is a short list of additional activities for your consideration:

• Make lighting the Chanukah menorah (aka Chanukiyah) part of the evening celebration, be it family, friends, or a combination. Have a festive meal. Serve latkes. Teach the kids how to play dreidel.
• Watch Jewish movies. There are so many going back over the decades. Hallmark is supposed to be airing two new Chanukah movies this year. Watch “Nobody Wants This” on Netflix.
• Listen to Jewish music. You can hear it live at jewishrockradio.com, or, here is a list of Chanukah music created by a colleague of mine on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0N3LFoNcMZmh6GfOmTg7T5?si=c1S3UxFoTs2QAun60qiwpA&pi=u-uPjbSJkeRzW8&nd=1&dlsi=428df09bd7e54a99
• Invite people over and make fresh latkes in the kitchen.
• Read a good Jewish book. There are so many I dare not suggest any particular titles.
• Join us on December 22 at 11:00AM for the Christmas Pageant at Calvary Episcopal Church, where I will reprise my role as Moses and Alan Hausman will be A Wise Man. We sponsor a Chanukah party afterwards that is always packed and delicious.
• We will be cooking latkes here at Rodef Shalom to use on Friday evening, December 27. Please RSVP to Samantha@treeoflifepgh.org for further information.
• Shabbat Chanukah will be on Friday evening, December 27. At 5:00PM, we will offer a pre-oneg and serve the above-mentioned latkes. At 6:00, join me and the band for a festive instrumental service. At the conclusion of the service, we will hold the finals of “I Have a Little Dreidel Reboot”, playing the finalists of the contest. You as the congregation will vote on the winning entry, who will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. While the ballots are tallied, join us for another Chanukah treat, sufganiyot (jelly donuts). Don’t go for a cholesterol test afterwards!
• And lastly, on Wednesday evening, December 25, at 5:00PM, at the corner of Shady and Wilkins, we will once again light our outdoor Chanukah menorah, and you need to be there. The continuous, growing presence of antisemitism in our community and beyond demands light to dispel the darkness. Chanukah is a celebration of religious freedom, something that we are unaccustomed to that is guaranteed in the Constitution and reaffirmed by a jury of our peers. We will be stating unequivocally that Tree of Life Congregation did not let the light go out. But you need to be there as part of our congregation and community so that we can affirm it together. Can we count on you?