A High-Energy Hanukkah

For eight nights each winter, the glow of the Hanukkah menorah carries a message that extends far beyond the light of the candles. Hanukkah is a celebration of Jewish identity and resilience and an opportunity to gather and connect as a community.

This year, Hanukkah (the Festival of Lights) begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and continues until sundown on Saturday, December 12. Throughout the holiday, Chabad of South Orlando will bring the celebration into local communities with a lineup of family-friendly events featuring music and other entertainment, food, and public menorah lightings.

Approximately 1,000 people participate in Chabad’s Hanukkah programming each year, with events ranging from large family festivals to smaller events geared toward specific segments of the Jewish community.

Gelt and Robots and Snow, Oh My!

The biggest celebration will be on Sunday, December 6, during Chabad’s popular community festival on Sand Lake Road in the Dr. Phillips area. Attendees will enjoy musical performers and other entertainers, children’s activities, arts and crafts, train rides, raffles, food, prizes, and a large snow area complete with slides for youngsters to go sledding.

Then there’s the gelt. Rather than simply handing out the traditional chocolate coins, Chabad takes things to a higher level – quite literally – with a helicopter chocolate gelt drop, sending treats raining down for the excited children below. New to this year’s event will be a rather unexpected attraction: dancing robots. The interactive robots will move, dance, and engage with the crowd, adding a decidedly 21st-century twist to the celebration of an ancient holiday.

The festival will also include a grand menorah lighting, with dignitaries and government representatives expected to participate. The atmosphere at celebrations such as the one in Dr. Phillips is intentionally exuberant, says Rabbi Yosef Konikov, director of Chabad of South Orlando.

“The events are high energy because of the excitement of the music, the entertainment, and especially the warm communal menorah lighting,” he says. “There is just an electric feeling in the air. The big events also have something for everybody, for every age.”

New to Chabad’s celebrations this year will be an event in Windermere on Monday, December 7. Other events include: a Hanukkah game night on Saturday, December 5; a special celebration on Tuesday, December 8 for local Israelis and members of the Hebrew-speaking community; and a celebration on Thursday, December 10, at Kissimmee City Hall.

The breadth of the festivities is possible through the generous support of The Pargh Foundation, whose contributions help Chabad of South Orlando bring Hanukkah celebrations to families and communities throughout the area.

A Warm Welcome

For Chabad and Rabbi Konikov, the events are about considerably more than snow slides, dancing robots, or chocolate falling from helicopters. At the center of the celebrations is the lighting of the menorah. The communal experience can be especially meaningful for people who may not otherwise participate in Jewish organizations or activities on a regular basis.

That sense of welcome is central to Chabad of South Orlando’s broader mission. Since its founding in 2000, the organization has described its goal as providing a warm, accepting environment in which Jewish locals and visitors can develop a sense of community and connect with Jewish life. The Hanukkah celebrations provide a particularly joyful opportunity to do that.

“It draws large crowds and especially Jewish people who are not affiliated [with a synagogue], and that is important to us,” says Rabbi Konikov. “It is our mission to include and engage that segment of our community.”

That means creating celebrations where a family deeply involved in Jewish communal life can stand beside one attending a Chabad event for the first time, and both can feel equally welcome. The goal is to make the experience something all families can enjoy together.

Behind every celebration is a remarkably simple message Rabbi Konikov hopes visitors – whether regulars or first-time attendees – will carry home with them after the final menorah candle has been lit: “Judaism is happy, fun, and has a space for you.”

To learn more about this year’s celebrations, visit JewishOrlando.com.