Holiday of freedom, dedication celebrated by Jewish Community
Despite their relatively small population here, Juneau Jews are celebrating Hanukkah this week as most American Jews are: with eight evening candle-lighting ceremonies, potato pancakes, or latkas, the game of dreidl and the exchange of gifts.
"Lighting the menorah at sunset is actually kind of tricky in Juneau," said Ken Alper, who will celebrate the holiday with his wife, Jill Ramiel. "Generally it's after work as opposed to sundown."
The holiday began at sundown Friday, and will last until Saturday, Dec. 7. Two candles on the menorah, the candelabra used in the ceremony, were lit Friday evening, and one additional candle will be lit each day of the holiday.
The holiday celebrates the liberation of the ancient land of Judea from the Syrians in the second century B.C. According to Jewish legend, when Judea was liberated, Jews found that the Syrians had used all but one can of oil in the temple for lighting the temple lamps. One can of oil should have lasted for one day, but the oil lasted for eight days, the amount of time it took the people to acquire more oil.
"The miracle of the story is that the lamp lasted for eight days, so Hanukkah lasts for eight days," said Rabbi Hillel Gamoran in a phone interview from Seattle. Gamoran has celebrated the Jewish high holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah in Juneau for the last three years.
"But we also teach that the miracle wasn't so much in the oil but in that a small group of dedicated people fought for their religion and their land and their faith," he said. "The miracle is that this small group of leaders could overcome an army and free the people.
"Now, of course, the holiday ties into the freedom we have today in this country to observe our faith as part of the large multi-faith community," he said.
The word "Hanukkah" means "dedication," and recalls the dedication of the temple that took place upon its liberation. The word is spelled "Chanukah," "Chanuka," "Hanukkah," or several other ways depending on the way the sounds of the word are translated from the Hebrew alphabet to the English, Gamoran said.
While Hanukkah is not the most important of Jewish holidays, it has grown in significance in America in recent years.
"Because of the importance of Christmas in the Christian year, Hanukkah has kind of grown in importance to many families," Gamoran said.
The dates for the holiday are based on the lunar calendar, and this year is one of the earliest the holiday can be held. Usually, it falls closer to Christmas.
"It's a very joyous holiday," said Jeffrey Herrmann, who usually lights the candles at a ceremony in his office at Perseverance Theatre. "It's become the Jewish Christmas."
Finding the necessary supplies to celebrate the holiday in Juneau is not quite as easy as it is for Christian holidays, though.
"I imagine it would be very hard to find a dreidl in town," said Herrmann, referring to a clay top used for a traditional holiday game. His mother sent a menorah with him when he moved to Juneau, assuming, correctly, that one would be hard to come by here.
Christine Schmid can be reached at cschmid@juneauempire.com.