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The members of the Beth Chaim congregation gathered Sunday to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, but they didn’t come alone. Celebrating their second year in their new home just off Camino Tassajara, the synagogue played host to six other faiths.
Rabbi Dan Goldblat addressed the crowd of 250 people who braved the rainy weather to take part in the lighting of the first candle of the Menorah, symbolizing the first of the eight nights of Hanukkah. Goldblat referred to the spirit of Hanukkah as the longest running fight for religious freedom.
Goldblat and Rabbi Chaya Gusfield welcomed those of the congregation as well as those of other faiths who chose to attend.
“We have invited many of other faiths to attend,” Goldblat explained, “and each faith community will have its own menorah.”
Six other faith communities attended the celebration including: the Baha’i’ Faith, Peace Lutheran Church, Danville Congregational Church, the Islamic Center, the MA Center of San Ramon and the Christian Science Church. Representatives from each gave a brief blessing to the packed room before using the center, or Shamash, candle to light the first of the eight Hanukkah candles.
After the lighting, those in attendance ate latkes, tasted wine or danced to traditional music. Some of the younger congregants gathered on the floor to spin the dreidel, playing the centuries old game and wagering for chocolate coins.
Hanukkah, from the Hebrew word for “dedication” or “consecration”, marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the “miracle of the container of oil.”According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.
An Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock, has stood on the site of the Temple since the late 7th Century AD, and the al-Aqsa Mosque, from roughly the same period, also stands on the Temple courtyard.
Maccabees had the the reason to celebrate Hannukka but how do the present day Jews celebrate Hannukka when the same temple is controlled by a Waqf (an Islamic trust).
Is not their job to sanctify the temple like Maccabees did and then celebrate Hannukka instead of competing with christians and christmas.
Note:
Although it’s a popular holiday for Jews, it is not their most sacred  in fact, the story isn’t even mentioned in the Torah.
Alex Lubet , the Hillel Board of Directors president and a music professor at the University, said Hanukkah doesn’t reflect the full depth of Judaism. Other more sacred holidays include Passover and Yom Kippur.
Laura Supkoff , a Jewish University graduate student, said it’s not a holiday that people would take off work to celebrate.
“It receives a lot more attention than it actually should, just because Christmas is at the same time,†she said.
I learned that Easter is the biggest Christian holiday, religiously speaking – but whether they are “the most important” or not, it sure is nice to have holidays in the middle of winter!