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Mayor Jim Watson joined the city’s Jewish leaders on a blustery evening Tuesday to once again light the giant menorah celebrating the start of Hanukkah.
The menorah, the nine-branch candleholder, is at the heart of the “festival of lights.”
According to tradition, the centre candle is lit first, and then used to light an additional candle on each of the eight days. On Tuesday, the first night’s candle was lit by well-known community leader Rabbi Reuven Bulka.
Rabbi Reuven Bulka lights the first of eight lights (after the mayor lit the centre candle) on the giant menorah outside city hall Tuesday (Dec. 12, 2017) evening. This marks the beginning of Hanukkah. Julie Oliver/Postmedia
“Hanukkah is a universal victory,” said Rabbi Menachem Blum, spiritual leader of the Ottawa Torah Centre. “Hanukkah, in a sense, has a very Canadian message to it, which is universalism and the idea of many cultures being able to express themselves and share it with the world.”
The Torah Centre will also kick off the Hanukkah holiday celebrations Wednesday by lighting a 100-year-old brass menorah that survived the Holocaust.
The menorah was given to the Bloomfield family by a Jewish family who the Bloomfields hid from the Nazis in their attic in their home in the Netherlands. Susan Bloomfield, who inherited the menorah, donated it to the Torah Centre in 2014.
The Hanukkah holiday symbolizes the Jewish people’s rise above adversity. Its origins extend to over two millennia ago, when ancient Israel was invaded by Greek forces. The soldiers’ mission was to eradicate Judaism, and part of their campaign was to contaminate the Jewish people’s pure olive oil, used to light menorahs in temples.
Among the oppressed civilians, a small army known as the Maccabees revolted against the Greeks in Jerusalem.
Peace was restored, however, only one jug of oil was found for relighting the temple’s menorah. Miraculously, it sustained its flames for eight days. Today, the name ‘Hanukkah’ represents the Hebrew word for ‘dedication’ – an homage to the temple’s repatriation.
Oil used to cook holiday treats represents the miraculous menorah’s sustenance.
Hanukkah customs remain largely the same worldwide. People from all walks of life observe the Hanukkah story over candlelight, celebratory prayer, and food.
However, one major difference, said Blum, is the weather.
“We’re definitely having a white Hanukkah,” in Ottawa, said Blum.
The Jewish community in Ottawa numbers about 15,000, according to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.
Hanukkah runs until Dec. 20.
查看原文...
The menorah, the nine-branch candleholder, is at the heart of the “festival of lights.”
According to tradition, the centre candle is lit first, and then used to light an additional candle on each of the eight days. On Tuesday, the first night’s candle was lit by well-known community leader Rabbi Reuven Bulka.
Rabbi Reuven Bulka lights the first of eight lights (after the mayor lit the centre candle) on the giant menorah outside city hall Tuesday (Dec. 12, 2017) evening. This marks the beginning of Hanukkah. Julie Oliver/Postmedia
“Hanukkah is a universal victory,” said Rabbi Menachem Blum, spiritual leader of the Ottawa Torah Centre. “Hanukkah, in a sense, has a very Canadian message to it, which is universalism and the idea of many cultures being able to express themselves and share it with the world.”
The Torah Centre will also kick off the Hanukkah holiday celebrations Wednesday by lighting a 100-year-old brass menorah that survived the Holocaust.
The menorah was given to the Bloomfield family by a Jewish family who the Bloomfields hid from the Nazis in their attic in their home in the Netherlands. Susan Bloomfield, who inherited the menorah, donated it to the Torah Centre in 2014.
The Hanukkah holiday symbolizes the Jewish people’s rise above adversity. Its origins extend to over two millennia ago, when ancient Israel was invaded by Greek forces. The soldiers’ mission was to eradicate Judaism, and part of their campaign was to contaminate the Jewish people’s pure olive oil, used to light menorahs in temples.
Among the oppressed civilians, a small army known as the Maccabees revolted against the Greeks in Jerusalem.
Peace was restored, however, only one jug of oil was found for relighting the temple’s menorah. Miraculously, it sustained its flames for eight days. Today, the name ‘Hanukkah’ represents the Hebrew word for ‘dedication’ – an homage to the temple’s repatriation.
Oil used to cook holiday treats represents the miraculous menorah’s sustenance.
Hanukkah customs remain largely the same worldwide. People from all walks of life observe the Hanukkah story over candlelight, celebratory prayer, and food.
However, one major difference, said Blum, is the weather.
“We’re definitely having a white Hanukkah,” in Ottawa, said Blum.
The Jewish community in Ottawa numbers about 15,000, according to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.
Hanukkah runs until Dec. 20.
查看原文...
