December 25, 2022 Chanukah night in Williamsburg
In my newest video, I’ll take you into Williamsburg during the lovely menorah lighting ceremony of Chanukah. We also look through a classic coloring book that tells the story of Chanukah, in a very “Hasidic” way. In this story Chanukah was the battle between the education-oriented (read: secular education) Greeks who forced their enlightenment ways on everyone around them. The Torah-fearing Jews resisted this encroachment, a battle was waged, and ultimately the Jews won. During the battle, the Greeks raided the temple and destroyed the oil used to light the candles in the temple, which was a great tragedy. But a miracle happened, and the little bit of oil that survived that should have just lasted one night lasted eight nights, hence, the lighting of the menorah on eight days of Chanukah. It’s an interesting story that fits well with the current lively debate about Hasidic education, because it shows how deeply Hasidic resistance to this kind of ‘buildung’ (education) goes.
We also tried some donuts and checked out some of the hipster side of town. Please have a watch and join me for a little visit, and let me know what your thoughts are.
Happy holidays!
Frieda
Recipe: sweet cheese latkes for Chanukah
Chanukah 2018 in Hasidic Williamsburg
Hasidic handshakes at the White House