Let’s celebrate Chanukah per our values.

Let’s tell the story beyond, “You know…it’s about the oil that lasted for 8 days.”  Let us understand our history including the forces at work to assimilate us and the courage it took to fight.

Let’s light the chanukiah as a family whether in person or on zoom.  Let us tell stories about that chanukiah–was it from a Bar Mitzvah or a wedding?  Was it purchased in Israel?  Was it homemade?  Does each person in your family light their own?

Let’s bring light in every way we can–light that is measured in time more like the ever-lit eternal light than the 44 candles in a box.  Let that light be the light of compassion and understanding, respect and inquisitiveness, pride, and self-respect, learning and exploring.

Let’s remember Mattathias, Judah and his brothers who were nicknamed Maccabee (Hammer) because they hammered away at the Syrian Greeks who tried to take away their religious freedom.  Let us understand that important issues take ongoing work, chipping away a bit at a time.

Let’s play a competitive game of dreidel and relish in the stack of gelt that is won rather than only measuring gifts by their cost or exclusiveness.

Let’s eat latkes and other treats from around the Jewish world and celebrate our Jewish diversity one bite at a time.

Let’s give ourselves an 8-day gift of pride, joy, engagement, and light.

Happy Chanukah!