Hanukkah

Home Hosted Hanukkah 2021 Recap

December 8, 2021 by Gillian Jackson

We had big plans this year for indoor in-person events at the JCC and in people’s homes, but unfortunately the tides of the pandemic shifted and we needed to make new plans! Thankfully most of our events were able to be moved outdoors or onto Zoom, and only a few had to be cancelled. I am truly grateful for our community’s willingness to be flexible and make the best of the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in. There were many moments of joy and community to be found in this year’s celebration of lights and miracles — L’Chaim! Enjoy some photos from the week’s events below:

Marcy made adorable little care packages of tea, cookies, and Jordan almonds for her Sing Along and Tea event.

Home Hosted Hanukkah at the Speyer House! Photo Credit Nancy Meadow

Otto setting the ground rules for the Hanukkah Gelt Hunt Hosted by the Nelson Family. The kids had a blast!

Etta in her fully embodied ‘Hershel’ form for her dramatic reading of *Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.*

Community Candle Lighting Menorah set up for Rabbi Ora’s Zoom Hanukkah Event

Sign Up To Attend A Night of Home Hosted Hanukkah

November 21, 2021 by Gillian Jackson

We have had to pivot a little this month due to increase in COVID-19 cases in the Ann Arbor area, but have no fear: we have a super fun slate of Hanukkah events lined up! Read about the upcoming events below and sign up to participate. You will not regret spending time together with our beloved community celebrating the holiday!

Zoom Sing-Along and Tea with Marcy Epstein: Monday November 29th, Pick up Tea and Honey 5-7pm, Singing from 7-8pm. Marcy will provide tea and honey for all participants to be picked up at 1610 Cherokee from 5-7pm. At 7pm we will light candles over Zoom, then sing songs of the season and niggunim as we sip honey tea by candlelight. Sign up to participate here. If you would like to come but will not be picking up tea, please email Marcy (dr_marcy@hotmail.com) and let her know so she knows how much to prepare.

Family Latke Party at the Speyer’s: Wednesday, December 1st 5-7pm. 1465 Harpst Street. If weather permits, the Speyer family will provide latkes outdoors, while gathering around a fire pit. This party is particularly for families with kids. Latkes and standard toppings will be provided. Feel free to bring other latkes or toppings. Sign up required to attend, please Sign Up Here!

Candle Lighting, Hershel and The Hanukkah Goblins Reading, and Music hosted on Zoom by Etta Heisler: Thursday, December 2nd, 6:45pm. Sign Up Here to Attend! Zoom link will be sent out next week.

Candle Lighting with Rabbi Ora: Friday, December 3rd, 5-5:30pm. Join Rabbi Ora to light Chanukah and Shabbat candles, and stay for a little “light” learning about how we light, when, where, and why! Zoom link will be sent out next week.

Gelt Hunt at County Farm Park, followed by Campfire and Cocoa with the Nelson Family: Saturday December 4th, 2:00pm. Bring warm clothing and boots and join the Nelson family for a family gelt hunt at County Farm Park, followed by a campfire with cocoa in their yard (2439 Buckingham Rd.). Sign up required to participate, Sign Up Here!

If you are up for more Hanukkah fun after the Gelt Hunt, head over to the Jewish Federation and Beth Israel’s Illuminate Hanukkah event from 5:45-7:30. More details here.

Last Night of Hanukkah Congregation-Wide Celebration at the Basch’s, Sunday December 5th, 5-7pm. Join us for the last night of Hanukkah! Rena and Jeff Basch will host a campfire gathering for the last night of Hanukkah that will include pizza, donuts, and hot cider. 4260 Shetland Dr. Sign up required to attend, Sign Up Here!

Its Time to Sign Up To Host A Night Of Home-Hosted Hanukkah Celebrations!

November 3, 2021 by Gillian Jackson

Friends gathered together in 2018 for a Home Hosted Hanukkah Celebration

This year, AARC will be returning to our long-cherished tradition of home-hosted Hanukkah gatherings! For those of you who are new to our congregation, the tradition includes visiting each other’s houses to celebrate in different ways over the 8 days of Hanukkah. Some events are hosted by families and are kid-friendly, some are events targeted towards adults, and everything in-between. It is a wonderful way to spend time together and get to know each other better. This year we are hoping to have a mix of online and in-person opportunities. I hope that you will find time this year to participate in at least one night of Home-Hosted Hanukkah.

Here are some examples of Hanukkah events that you could host, with helpful links:

Latke Night: How to Throw a Latke Party, So You Can Eat More Latkes
Sufganyot Making Night: Clare Kinberg has hosted this event in the past, here is her blog with recipe and pictures included!
Hanukkah Cocktail Hour: Here is a cocktail for every night of Hanukkah; they look delicious! (Online or Zoom works for this one!)
White Elephant Gift Exchange: This will take some commitment and planning, but a white elephant gift exchange is a super fun way to get something you never knew you wanted!
Family Hanukkah Craft Party: Gather up some craft supplies and host families with younger children for a Hanukkah Craft Party! Here is a blog with loads of ideas!
Hanukkah potluck: There’s nothing easier than a BYOFood party. We can set up a Signup Genius for you so that everyone doesn’t bring latkes! Here are some helpful suggestions for a successful Hanukkah potluck from Chowhound.
Hanukkah Brisket Dinner: If you like to host a dinner party, sign up to have friends over for a delicious brisket dinner.
Host a ZOOM trivia night: Last year Marcy Epstein seriously stumped us on the Hanukkah trivia; I declare a rematch!
Online Hanukkah Story Telling: Read one of the Hanukkah classics and make it as simple or elaborate as you like!
Hanukkah Art Workshop: Lead a creative art workshop for adults and/or children! Here is a blog about the art workshop led by Carol Levin and Idelle Hammond-Sass last year.
To get a feel for the tradition, check out our pre-COVID Home -Hosted Hanukkah blog from 2019 here.

I hope that some of these ideas inspire you to sign up to host a night of Home-Hosted Hanukkah! Sign up to host here!!

AARC Triumphantly Lights Up Hanukkah Amidst the Pandemic

December 27, 2020 by Gillian Jackson

I can’t be alone in feeling that our small community is getting pretty good at finding ways to celebrate the Jewish year online. Hanukkah 2020 was a triumph of spirit, fostering a depth of connection over the web that many might have thought impossible a year ago. I am inspired by our community’s commitment to stick together and create meaningful experiences for one another during this difficult time.

AARC Hanukkah celebrations kicked off with a lively evening hosted by members Sharon Haar and Robin Wagner. Following candle-lighting, we learned the online party game Psych! (“trivia meets cards against humanity”) under Sharon and Robin’s instruction. The hallmark of this very well-attended event was FUN!

Our congregation collaborated for socially-distanced Hanukkah celebrations twice: once with the Jewish Federation, and again with Temple Beth Israel. It was a joy to share in the celebrations with the larger Jewish community of Ann Arbor.

On Sunday, members Carol Levin and Idelle Hammond-Sass hosted an “Art and Midrash” workshop centered on the Hanukkah story. This well-loved duo will be continuing their Art and Midrash series throughout the winter and spring–more details to come!

Marcy Epstein led a candle lighting and lively yet challenging night of Hanukkah based trivia. Attendees were also delighted with Marcy’s musical gifts of Hanukkah song and prayer.

On the fourth night of Hanukkah, member Etta Heisler followed her candle-lighting with a dramatic reading of Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel and Trina Schart Hyman. Children and adults alike were charmed by Etta’s narrative prowess and varied character voices!

The seventh night found us at the “Latke vs. Hamentaschen” debate hosted by Rabbi Ora. It was a heated debate with a real humdinger at the end. We will have to see if the outcome changes during Hanukkah next year – new AARC tradition? – or perhaps also on Purim!

*Rena Basch won the prize for the best props!* Photo Credit: Rebecca Kanner

We wrapped up the week with a family candle-lighting hosted by Beit Sefer director Clare Kinberg. The students recited prayers and sang classic Hanukkah songs with the community. The Beit Sefer night was a sweet way to wrap up a busy week of community events.

Thank you to everyone who hosted a Hanukkah event and to everyone who attended! This great season of celebration is one we can recall with great fondness next Hanukkah, when we hope to be together in person again.

Photo credit: https://www.pikist.com/free-photo-svuyq

A Lovely Hanukkah With AARC

December 30, 2019 by Gillian Jackson

It has been another season of light and love at AARC in celebration of Hanukkah. The week began with a fun Hanukkah-themed day of learning at Beit Sefer. Over the week, many AARC families hosted friends, family, and congregants for home-hosted Hanukkah celebrations. On Friday night, we all gathered together for the congregation wide Hanukkah party during Fourth Friday Shabbat.

Fourth Friday Shabbat Hanukkah Celebration was a festive night that included a community candle lighting, festive music, and a latke cook-off!

Esteemed judges Sally Fink and Anita Rubin-Meiller hard at work evaluating the admirable qualities of each latke entry.

Beit Sefer’s annual life-sized menorah!

Beit Sefer students enjoying edible dreidels. Yum!

Menorah lighting from a home-hosted Hanukkah gathering at Marcy Epstein’s house.

Holidays at Home with Friends

December 13, 2018 by Clare Kinberg

Lighting the candles on the last night of Hanukkah 5779 at the Belman-Wells

Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation started out as a havurah, a smallish friendship group of like-minded Jews who gather for Shabbat and holiday prayer services, lifecycle events, and Jewish learning. When we became a congregation and engaged rabbinic leadership, we opened up to growing in numbers and diversity, but we also wanted to retain the warm, low-key feeling of friends gathering.

Playing games at Patti and Clare’s on the third night of Hanukkah, while the sufganiyot dough rises

One way we’ve been able to do this is by organizing home-hosted Jewish holidays: Hanukkah candle lightings and Passover seders where old and new friends can gather to celebrate. Lucky for us, Jewish holidays that last many days create many opportunities for small groups.

Sixth night of Hanukkah at Mike Ehmann’s, candles burning bright

The upcoming spring holidays offer opportunities for many different types of celebrations. For Tu b’Shvat this year (just a month away on January 20-21), we are looking for a member who’d like to host a seder in their home. We’ll celebrate Purim at the JCC, and we will again organize a Passover seder sign up so that everyone who wants to be at a home Passover seder will be able to. If you can host a wheelchair accessible seder for Tu b’Shvat or Passover, please let us know. We’ll celebrate Mimouna together again at the end of Passover, at the JCC.

Clare’s instructions for making sufganiyot

December 6, 2018 by Clare Kinberg

Hanukkah is all about oil and resistance, so what better art project than wax resist painting. Molly Meadow made this one in Shlomit’s Beit Sefer class last week.

After about twenty years of annual sufganiyot making, I can share here my process and recipe.

First ingredient, a batch of kids to do the rolling, cutting, filling, sugaring and eating.

About 4 hours before the kids arrive, I pull out the bread machine.

Each batch of dough takes an hour and a half to make, and I make two batches of about 20-25 donuts each.

The ingredients for the bread machine are:

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

3 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Other stuff you need:

Wok or deep pan for frying

Oil for deep frying. I use canola, about 1 1/2 quarts, enough to fill my wok about 4 inches deep

3 inch diameter cutting tool (I use the ubiquitous Ikea plastic cup)

Medicine dropper for squirting the jelly into the sufganiyot

Jelly filling. I use Kroger All Fruit, seedless variety of flavors, stirred with a tiny bit of water to make it easy to suck into the medicine dropper

Powdered sugar and sifter for shaking

Roll the dough to about 3/8 thickness, cut into 3 inch circles and place on baking sheets to rise, covered with a cloth. Recipe says let rise for 35-45 minutes. We put the oven on 170 degreee F, and put them in for 20 minutes while the kids played games. While the dough rises, heat up the oil to a medium heat until a small piece of dough bubbles when put in the oil. Fry 1-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. I fry 5 to 7 at a time. Place on paper towels until cool enough to handle. Use the droppers to fill either the side or top of the fried donut, shake on powdered sugar.

Enjoy.

Hanukkah and Winter Solstice Reflections

December 21, 2017 by Clare Kinberg

Photo from the Jewish Multiracial Network Facebook page.

Yesterday, the last day of Hanukkah 5778, Rabbi Marc Gopin posted on Facebook some words of deep wisdom:

“It was very hard to let go of the light this year. Light in darkness feels deeply resonant now, and difficult to resist a sense of foreboding.

Sometimes when you have been caught vulnerable by thieves and criminals, especially when they disguise themselves to beguile the foolish, and sometimes in order to avoid bloodshed, you need to let them steal their trillions. Sometimes you need to learn a harsh lesson, and then build a better security system, a better community of safety and mutual protection, a better community of fair law for all.

This is the only antidote, this inescapable need to reconcile and build trust among the decent rich and poor, the decent women and men, the decent secular and religious. We can do this. Even when it’s darkest outside, there is the amazing light we conjure.”

Hanukkah is always close to the Winter Solstice, but also independent from it. In a reflection on Hanukkah and the Winter Solstice, Rabbi Arthur Waskow wrote in Seasons of Our Joy:

If we see Hanukkah as intentionally, not accidentally, placed at the moment of the darkest sun and darkest moon, then one aspect of the candles seems to be an assertion of our hope for renewed light. Just as at Sukkot we poured the water in order to remind God to pour out rain, perhaps one reason for us to light the candles is to remind God to renew the sun and moon. Indeed, the miracle of eight days’ light from one day’s oil sounds like an echo of the Mishnah’s comment that at the Sukkot water pouring, one log (measure) of water was enough for eight days’ pouring.

On her website “tel shemesh: celebrating and creating earth-based traditions in Judaism,” Rabbi Jill Hammer tells us “There are a number of Jewish stories about the winter solstice. Here are some of the legends Jews can tell one another during the darkest days of winter…” You can read more of her Rabbi Hammer’s teaching on Hanukkah and Winter Solstice here.

And finally, Marcia Falk includes the poem “Winter Solstice” as part of her amidah sequence where it appears in the second-section which re-creates the traditional theme of g’vurot, “strength,” affirming God’s power as m’hayeyh meytim, “reviver of the dead.”‘ For her full discussion of this concept in her creative prayers, see the wonderful book Jewish American Poetry: Poems, Commentary and Reflections. I highly recommend we each have in households her The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival (CCAR Press, 2017). Copyright © 1996, 2017 by Marcia Lee Falk. Also, I found on her website that she has done mizrachs (decorative plaques hung on the eastern wall of the home) with her poems and original paintings. Check them out: beautiful gifts for yourself and others.

Click on picture to make it big enough to read.

Click on picture to make big enough to read.

Hanukkah 2017 blog: Latke fry-off and more

December 7, 2017 by Clare Kinberg

As I write this 2017 Hanukkah blog, the first snow of the season has skimmed the porch with white. I realize that all the serious stuff I want to say about Hanukkah, I wrote in last year’s blog, with links to various other thoughtful writings.

Here’s an annotated schedule for the rest of 2017:

This Saturday, December 9, is our Human Rights Shabbat, focusing on the light we bring through our activism. Rabbi Ora has invited our members to signup to speak for no more that 4 minutes each. Please read about it here and sign up here. There will be childcare!

Sunday December 10: Beit Sefer gets ready for Hanukkah!

Sunday December 10: Over 50 (yrs old) AARC members getting together at Morgan and York, sharing ways to enrich Jewish life. Look for a doodle poll soon to pick a Saturday morning to meet again. Questions? email Memberchip Committee co-chair, Marcy Epstein at dr_marcy@hotmail.com.

Friday December 15: Home hosted potluck and candle lighting at Debbie Zivan’s (limited, you must RSVP here.)

Saturday December 16: Home hosted potluck and candle lighting at Carole Caplan’s (limited, you must RSVP here.)

Sunday December 17: Home hosted potluck and candle lighting at Kira Berman’s (limited, you must RSVP here.)

Just gotta say, the description of this photo is “Martha Stewart, Thanksgiving leftovers on a platter.” Okay then.

Tuesday December 19: Last Candle Latke Party and Fry-Off: We are having an all congregation and friends Hanukkah party at the JCC, 5:30 to 7:30pm (Clean-uppers should plan to be there till 8pm). We need you to bring latkes: prizes for the best in every category! For ideas, here’s the winning recipes from last year’s fry-off at Jewish Senior Life’s Fleischman Residence/Blumberg Plaza in West Bloomfield. And, here’s Jen Cohen’s Latke Secrets from our own past. Three people have already signed up to make latkes, but we need several more!! We’ll eat, light the hanukiot (bring your menorah and candles), sing songs and make a craft. Fun for all! RSVP and tell us what you are bringing.

Friday December 22: Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat with potluck and tot shabbat, at the JCC.

Monday December 25th: Dinner and a Movie: Our annual December 25 “Dinner and a Movie” on Monday, December 25 (Christmas Day) at 5:15 pm, will again take place at Madras Masala (328 Maynard St, Ann Arbor) followed by movies at Michigan and State Theaters.
We will pre-order the food and you need to fill out this SignUp Genius so we can send the order in. Have cash available for payment. Madras Masala has increased business in the last two years and management needs us to pre-order to efficiently serve us as well as their walk-in and take-out customers. With this in mind, we will have our usual very fun dinner, with less wait for food and more time for enjoying and schmoozzing. Restaurant cooks will begin to prepare our orders early and wait staff will bring each individual and family your specific order.