Hanukkah, also know as the Festival of Lights, is usually celebrated with large family get-togethers and community menorah-lighting ceremonies.
But as people have come to expect, things will be different this year because of COVID-19.
Synagogues and Jewish organization across South Florida are once again getting creative to make sure the joyous holiday — which begins Thursday night and runs through Dec. 18 — is celebrated safely.
Health experts are recommending that families celebrate holidays at home only with the people who live in the household. And some of the traditionally held outdoor festivals will go virtual.
“I am seeing tons of very creative programming done by by our [Jewish Community Centers] and local synagogues, always with an eye toward being careful and always with an emphasis on social distancing,” said Jacob Solomon, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
Some synagogues are offering virtual menorah lightings while others are doing in-person socially distanced ones. The Greater Miami Jewish Federation is hosting a holiday food distribution to help those people who are struggling. A Jewish young professional group is having a virtual cocktail-making class instead of its usual in-person party.
Community menorah lighting ceremonies will be held throughout South Florida, though many are in a smaller scale because of the pandemic. Miami Herald File
“The menorah serves as a symbol of light and hope for us today amidst the darkness of the pandemic, as it did for generations before us,” Rabbi Avraham Stolik, director of Chabad of Downtown Coral Gables, said in a statement. “The flames of the menorah shine out into the night, reminding us that even when confronted with much darkness, a tiny light can dispel it all. Another act of goodness and kindness, another act of light, can make all the difference.”
Hanukkah, which varies in spelling because of Hebrew-to-English transliteration, commemorates a time when Jews rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after being banned from practicing there more than 2,000 years ago.
“It is not a coincidence that Hanukkah, which is called the Festival of Lights, comes at the darkest time of the year, which is the winter solstice,” Solomon said. “In times of darkness it’s incumbent upon us as human beings to bring light into the world.”
Here is a look at some of the South Florida events being planned:
A Greater Miami Jewish Federation volunteer caring toys to be distributed during the Hanukkah food distribution drive-thru event at Greater Miami Jewish Federation Stanley C. Myers Building located at 4200 Biscayne Boulevard on Thursday, December 10, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The distribution is a collaboration between Federation Jewish Volunteer Center, our primary human service agency Jewish Community Services of South Florida, Repair the World, Farm Share, Miami-Dade County and the Sol Taplin Charitable Foundation. DAVID SANTIAGO dsantiago@miamiherald.com
Saturday
▪ Shabanukkah: Congregation Dor Chadash will stream its celebration live on the synagogue’s Facebook page beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday. The event, which combines Hanukkah and the sabbath, will include singing and dancing. To RSVP, visit https://form.jotform.com/ltabachnikoff/hanukkahsignup.
Lit menorah with latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly doughnuts at the Jewish Museum of Florida, Miami Beach. They will be served through December 29th in Bessie's Bistro, the museum cafe, to celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of light. Linda Bladholm
Sunday
▪ PJ Library Kids: Shine Your Light!: The Miami Children’s Museum along with PJ Library will have a virtual celebration at 3 p.m. Sunday. The event will include story time and arts and crafts. To participate, you will need paper, scissors, contact paper, marshmallows, frosting, sprinkles, gelt and pretzel. To get the Zoom information, participants must register.
▪ Coral Gables menorah lighting ceremony: The annual City of Coral Gables Festival of Lights Chanukah Celebration will be 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Ponce Circle Park, 2800 Ponce de Leon Blvd. The celebration will feature a firetruck parade and chocolate coin drop. A large menorah will be affixed to a firetruck and will have a dreidel mascot dropping the coins. The free public event will also include live musical entertainment, a Samoan fire knife dance show and gift bags for children. Part of the celebration will include the lighting of the candles on the 12-foot menorah. For more information call 305-490-7572, email info@ChabadGables.com or visit www.ChabadGables.com. Other Chabad of Downtown Coral Gables events include a virtual celebration from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday. To sign up, visit ChabadGables.com/VirtualMenorah.
Gelt is chocolate coins often given to children during Hanukkah. Miami Herald File
Monday
▪ Chanukah in the Stars: The free event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at The Shelborne, 1801 Collins Ave., in Miami Beach. The event will include drinks, LED menorah craft, sparkler candles, doughnuts and latkes. The event will adhere to social-distance requirements and masks are required and will be provided. To RSVP, email Chanukah@JewishBayshore.com.
Sufganiyot, jelly doughnuts served by some Jewish families at Hanukkah. David Carson TNS
Wednesday
▪ 41st Annual South Florida Chassidic Chanukah Festival: The free socially distanced drive-in event will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 at The Big Easy Casino, 831 N. Federal Highway, in Hallandale Beach. Mordechai Shapiro, who sings contemporary Jewish religious music, will perform. There will also be a menorah-lighting ceremony and a light show. For information, call 954-458-1877 or email chabadsboffice@gmail.com. The event can also be viewed on Chabad.org.
▪ Drinks and Dreidels: The Network Chai Society will have a virtual cocktail-making class at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16. Participants will learn how to make three different cocktails. The cost is $36 and free for Chai Society members. Registration by Dec. 13 is required. For more information, visit JewishMiami. org or email Rachel Altfield at raltfield@gmjf.org.
A previous version of this story gave the incorrect day of Congregation Dor Chadash’s Shabanukkah celebration. The event will be streamed live on the temple’s Facebook page at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Set of four wooden dreidels. Kenneth C. Zirkel
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 12:30 PM.
Carli Teproff grew up in Northeast Miami-Dade and graduated from Florida International University in 2003. She became a full-time reporter for the Miami Herald in 2005 and now covers breaking news.
