Chabad’s menorah lights up Sandton.

According to Chabad’s Goodness and Kindness Centre’s Rabbi Ari Kievman, Chanukah brings the community together through the power of light. Kievman explained the history of the festival. He said Chanukah remembers the victory that happened more than 2100 years ago of a “militarily weak, but spiritually strong Jewish people” who defeated a ruthless enemy that had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life. He spoke of the religious prohibitions Jewish people endured and how they were forced by the Assyrian Greeks to accept a foreign religion. During the occupation of Jerusalem and the Temple, the Assyrian Greeks desecrated and defiled the oils prepared for the lighting of the menorah, which form part of the daily service in the temple. According to Kievman, when the Jewish people recaptured the temple, they only found one jar of undefiled oil, enough to burn for only one day, but it lasted miraculously for eight days until new pure olive oil was produced. To commemorate this event, Jewish people celebrate Chanukah for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabra known as a menorah. The menorah is placed in a highly-visible place in the home to publicise the miracle, and to send a message of hope and religious freedom to all. The lighting of the menorah took place at Chabad’s Goodness and Kindness Centre in Sandton, and was followed by a party. He explained that the festival is about eliminating the darkness in our everyday lives, and kindling the light in whatever form it comes in. “South African Jewry have an immaculate warmth in their communities. They invite people into their homes and lives, and enjoy observing the customs,” said Kievman. Today, people of all faiths consider the Chanukah holiday as a symbol and message of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, and of light over darkness. Chanukah began on 27 November and finished on 5 December. The first and last two days of the festival are considered as high holy days, and are treated with the same value of Shabbos, meaning there is no use of electronics, no driving, and no cooking.

Details: www.SandtonCentral.org.za