At the Friendship Circle’s annual Chanukah Wonderland, 4-year-old Liam Gohar eyed the variety of doughnut decorations lining the table before settling on half vanilla frosting, half chocolate frosting, and a whole lot of rainbow sprinkles. Nearby, the story of Chanukah was brought to life through an olive oil press workshop. Children of all ages learned how to select olives by color and determine ripeness, and then took turns pitting the raw olives. Others were busy creating edible dreidels and sand art projects. With everything from a magic show to a bounce house, this celebration was a far cry from the days when a Chanukah party meant a plate of latkes and some plastic dreidels. All week long, organizations, synagogues, and schools in the area put their own twist on the holiday festivities.
While there was no shortage of menorah lighting ceremonies–from town halls to malls to the New Jersey Devils hockey game–perhaps the most unique holiday display was the car menorah parade. For the fifth year in a row, Chabad of Livingston and Lubavitch Center of Essex County literally took the festival of lights on the road. The parade, which was comprised of dozens of cars decked out with rooftop menorahs, drove through Livingston, Short Hills, and West Orange on Tuesday night.
“People are excited to see the parade come through,” says Rabbi Yisroel Rosenblum. “I even had some people contact me in advance to find out the route, so that they could be sure to see it passing.”
For those who preferred to stay close to home, there were plenty of unique Chanukah celebrations at local synagogues. At Congregation Israel of Springfield, competition was in the air. Creative minds of all ages were invited to create a menorah at home and bring it to the event for a menorah-making competition. Yakira Hoffer, whose ingenious design was made exclusively from K’Nex toy construction pieces, created the winning menorah. The evening also featured the annual latke cook-off. Five teams were given the basic latke essentials, such as potatoes, eggs, and onions, and were allowed to choose two “secret ingredients.” The winning team, Benjy Hoffer, Aryeh Czarka, and Rafi Kigner, took home a $100 gift card to Best Buy.
“They didn’t use any secret ingredients, but they had their flavor and presentation down to perfection,” says Taco Miretzky, who runs the synagogue’s youth department with his wife, Rifka.
At the Yeshiva of Elizabeth, the celebration combined traditional elements with something a little more unconventional. Following a performance by the school’s choir, Jack “Blackjack” Ryan, also known as the Hoop Wizard, took center stage and dazzled the audience with his comedy basketball show. At Synagogue of the Suburban Torah Center in Livingston, audience members were called up on stage to participate in a performance by the Improv 4 Kids theater group.
“Chanukah is a unique holiday,” says Suburban Torah’s Rabbi Elie Mischel. “Unlike most of our holidays, we are not prohibited from working, and the key mitzvah of the holiday–lighting the menorah–is very easy to perform. And so I think Chanukah presents us with a wonderful opportunity; we have the freedom to focus on the deeper aspects of the holiday, and to feel the joy of the holiday together with our family and community.”
By Rachel Jager
