Shul News & Notes
Join Zoom Happy Hour On Dec. 14 To Welcome New Members
The Hanukkah story that we retell year after year — the one-day cruse of oil that burned miraculously for eight days — is not the only miracle we will celebrate this year. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, our shul with its doors locked tight and all of our usual services, observances and activities transferred to virtual on Zoom — still attracted a dozen or more new members. And that is a miracle to celebrate.
Join us on Zoom on Monday, Dec. 14, at 5:30 p.m. for a Happy Hour to recognize and celebrate new and prospective members of our shul. There’ll be presentations about shul activities, a get-to-know-us game and, yes, an opportunity to light the candles together on the 5th night of the eight-night holiday of Hanukkah.
Bring snacks, libations, and your menorah, and come celebrate our membership miracle.
How Much Do You Know About Hanukkah? Nine Fun Facts
- There are at least 44 candles in each box of traditional Hanukkah candles, enough for one person to light the hanukkiyah for eight nights. Some boxes include extra candles as they tend to break easily. Candles come in a variety of colors, wax types, and even scents. You can also fulfill the mitzvah of lighting the hanukkiyah with oil.
- The average 100-gram sufganiyah packs 400-600 calories. One potato latke has about 150 calories, and one chocolate coin has about 85 calories, depending on the size of the coin.
- Hanukkah is known as the Festival of lights and also the Feast of Dedication. And if that weren’t enough, the holiday also has a variety of transliterated English spellings: Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hannuka. (The Shofar chooses Hanukkah; end of discussion.)
- Israeli author/politician Avram Burg is said to have the largest dreidel collection in the world, counting more than 3,500. Each dreidel features four Hebrew letters: nun, gimel, hay and shin. The letters stand for the Hebrew phrase “A great miracle happened there.”
- Although Hanukkah is one of the best known and celebrated Jewish festivals, it is actually a minor holiday, according to religious tradition. Some say Hanukkah gained popularity in the late 1800s among American Jews because of the season in which it falls — usually around Christmas. Hanukkah always begins on the 25th day of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar. The corresponding Gregorian date varies.
- The menorah is a seven-branched candelabra used in synagogues. The hanukkiyah is a nine-branched candelabra used during Hanukkah. Confusion sets in because the hanukkiyah can also be called a Hanukkah menorah. Whatever you call it, the “device” should have all candles or wicks at the same level, with only the shamash — the 9th, used for lighting the other eight — a bit higher.
- GPS navigation could help when organizing the hanukkiyah. Generally accepted is that you place the candles right to left, corresponding to the direction you read the Hebrew language. Confusion arises when lighting the candles; some prefer right to left, others left to right. You’re on your own here. [The Shofar editor chooses left to right; end of discussion.]
- Hanukkah made its first appearance at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in 1951, when Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion gave President Truman a menorah as a gift. In 1979, Jimmy Carter became the first American president to recognize the holiday publicly by speaking at a candle-lighting event hosted by Chabad Lubavitch. President George H.W. Bush attended a Hanukkah party for staff in the Executive Office Building in 1991. Two years later, President Clinton hosted a candle-lighting ceremony in the White House with his staff. The first official White House Hanukkah party was held on Dec. 10, 2001. President George W. Bush borrowed a 100-year-old hanukkiyah from the Jewish Museum in New York for the event. Since then, the White House Hanukkah party has been an annual event.
- The story of Hanukkah is the story of the Maccabees, a small band of Jewish fighters who liberated the Land of Israel from the Syrian Greeks who occupied it. Under the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Syrian Greeks sought to impose their Hellenistic culture on the land and its people. By 167 BCE, Antiochus had intensified his campaign by defiling the Temple in Jerusalem and banning Jewish practice. The Maccabees — led by the five sons of the priest Mattathias — waged a three-year campaign that culminated in the cleaning and rededication of the Temple in the village of Modi’in. It was here that the miracle of the single day’s supply of sacred oil burned for eight days.
Recipe Re-Revealed: Joan Prager’s ‘Luscious Latkes’
Ever responsive to the whims of its readership, The Shofar consulted with Joan Prager, the dean of latke-making at our shul, and gained permission once again to reveal the semi-secret recipe for the luscious latkes that — pre-Covid — were the stars of the shul’s annual Hanukkah party. Oh, how we gobbled them up. First one helping, then another and, when no one in particular was watching, maybe a third, with just a small dollop of sour cream or applesauce.
Alas, latke central is quiet, no gathering of the usual crew in the shul’s kitchen to peel, slice, pulverize, mix and fry. But take heart, with Joan’s famous recipe printed below, adapted she hastens to add from Deliciously Healthy Jewish Cooking by Harriet Roth, latke-making in home kitchens throughout The Shofar’s coverage area is at hand. Fry, fry away…
Joan Prager’s ‘Luscious Latkes’
4 extra-large egg whites
4 large russet potatoes, peeled, cut into one-inch cubes, and placed in cold water (with ice cubes)
2 large onions, or to taste (Joan likes it oniony)
1/3 cup flavored breadcrumbs (or more, to taste)
white pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
canola oil or olive oil
- Put the egg whites, onion and 2 cups of drained potato cubes in a food processor with blade in
place, and process 3 or 4 seconds, or until chopped to look like potato flakes. (Work quickly
so the potatoes won’t turn pink.)
- Add remaining potatoes. Process, pulsing until finely minced. Do not puree or over-blend.
- Drain liquid from the potatoes. Pour into a mixing bowl, and add breadcrumbs, salt and
pepper. (You may need more breadcrumbs if you use lots of onion.) Stir to blend.
- Put oil in a 10-12-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, add heaping tablespoons of latke
batter into the oil, using the back of a spoon to flatten.
- Place browned latkes on paper towels to drain. If you are serving the latkes right away, place
them in a 250-degree oven to keep warm. Otherwise, you can freeze them and reheat to serve.
- Serve with nonfat sour cream, nonfat yogurt, or sugar-free applesauce.
- To freeze, place drained latkes on a cookie sheet, and place in the freezer until frozen. Stack
in plastic bags and seal. To reheat, place frozen latkes on a nonstick, foil-lined baking sheet,
and bake at 450 degrees in upper third of oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until crispy and hot.
- Enjoy!
Sisterhood Fundraiser Features Colorful Hanukkah Cards
Wait until you see the beautiful Hanukkah cards Adrianne Greenberg has created as a Sisterhood fundraiser this year. Thanks to Adrianne’s initiative and the photographic skills of Andrea Blaga, two charming images shot within our synagogue — a lighted hanukkiyah, and a children’s menorah — can extend your Hanukkah wishes to family and friends.
For a look-see, check the shul’s website, and order a bunch. The cards come in packages of 6, for $18. You can choose 6 cards of the same image, or a combo pack of 3 cards of each image. No limit on the number of packs you can order. Your recipients will be delighted, and the Sisterhood will benefit from your generosity.
First Hanukkah Candle, Thursday, Dec. 10; Zoom Event At 7:30
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.
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