“Rabbi, what’s the right way to light the Hanukkah candles?”

Rabbis get asked lots of questions. One popular question at this time of the year is, “Rabbi, what’s the right way to light the Hanukkah candles?” I love questions like these, because there is no right answer!

Sure, there is a traditional way to light the candles. Most people put their candles in from right to left and light them from left to right. They start by lighting the shamash, the helper candle, which is often taller than the others. Each night they add a new candle.

But you don’t have to light the candles in that way. In fact the Talmud (codified around the year 500 CE) includes a debate on this very topic. While the students of Rabbi Hillel lit candles as I just described, the students of Rabbi Shammai did the opposite. They started with eight candles and subtracted one each night. Just as we can light candles in different ways, we can celebrate Hanukkah in different ways. There are traditions associated with the holiday that we’ll probably want to keep: dreidel games, potato latkes, family celebrations and gifts. There are also new ideas we can add.

At Beth Adam last year, we decided to add a new way to celebrate Hanukkah. We hosted the first annual Beth Adam Mitzvah Mall and raised over $1,800 dollars for eleven worthy community
organizations. At the Mitzvah Mall you can buy a gift for another person by making a donation to a non-profit organization. Please see the enclosure in this newsletter for a detailed wish list
from each organization.

Beyond the money raised, we heard wonderful feedback from members of all ages. After the event last year one Religious School family wrote , “we had a great family discussion beforehand and
the kids embraced the idea of following through with their mitzvahs!”

That’s exactly what the Mitzvah Mall is – an opportunity. An opportunity to have conversations, to make choices about spending and giving, to help others and to learn about those in need in our community. We do not need to keep lighting candles in the same way or even giving gifts in the same way. Our eyes can open to a new way of giving – a gift we give to our friends and family that also helps those in need.

This year, there will be twelve fabulous organizations at the Mitzvah Mall: 4C for Children, Clifton Senior Center, Fernside, Hospice of Cincinnati, (Jewish) Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Jewish Family Service, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Loveland Inter Faith Effort, OurJewishCommunity.org, the Sierra Club, Safe Haven Farms and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

This event is not only for our Religious School students. We hope all of you will visit between 11:15 and 12:30 on Sunday, December 6th. Please bring your friends – this event is open to the public.

Happy Hanukkah!