The first of the eight nights of Hanukkah (Kislev 24; the first full day is Kislev 25) falls this year on Thursday, Dec. 10. Unfortunately, the Village of Greenport is denying any large gatherings in public spaces this year, so our candle-lighting ceremony will not takes place in Mitchell Park as usual, but maybe we’ve come up with something even better. 

Join us on Zoom at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10, when we will light the Hanukkah candles from our own shul sanctuary, with Rabbi Gadi leading us in prayers and songs. After the ceremony, we can socialize at a BYOL (Bring Your Own Latkes) party. [By the way, the candle-lighting event from our own sanctuary will inaugurate Saturday Shabbat services from the sanctuary as well.] 

Keep in mind that the shul’s Gift Shop is at your service. Need a menorah? Need those cute bags of chocolate coins (parve, of course)? We’ve got them. Want majestically tall candles that add a touch of elegance to the holiday festivities? Or does your taste run more to the traditional, opting for a box of those little multicolored candles that drip festive rainbows of color, well, everywhere? Yes, we have those too, plus dreidels for fun, gifts for remembering friends and family, menorahs for families, special child-themed menorahs, and a new item for young children that The Shofar is pleased to recommend.

Hand delivered to Shofar headquarters was a charming new picture book that weaves the Hanukkah story into an imaginative tale called The Littlest Candle, the story of Little Flicker whose small size doesn’t keep him from standing tall as the shamash and the big job of lighting all the other Hanukkah candles. The lively text is from Rabbis Kerry and Jesse Olitzky, and the illustrations by Jen Kostman are bold, bright and  sweetly engaging. 

The Littlest Candle: A Hanukkah Story is from Kalaniot Books, an imprint of Endless Mountains Publishing, headed by Lili Rosenstreich, daughter of shul members Suzi and Saul Rosenstreich. The book, roughly 8-3/4 x 11, in vivid color, is available in the Gift Shop for the publisher’s price of $17.99, ready as Flicker says, “to bring more light to Hanukkah” this year.