By Faustine Goldberg-Sigal, MH International Director of Jewish Education

When Adam saw the days progressively getting gradually shorter, he said, “Woe is me, perhaps because I sinned, the world around me is becoming dark and returning to its primordial state of chaos and disorder?”… He began keeping an eight-day fast. But as he observed the winter solstice and noted the days progressively lengthening, he said, “This is the world’s course,” and he observed a festival for eight days.  – Babylonian Talmud, Avoda Zara 8a

In this Talmudic piece, Adam, the first human, experiences a universal feeling for the first time when days become shorter, nights become longer, and sunrise is delayed later and later each morning. This experience of growing darkness—and the anxiety it might bring—happens every year to all humans in all parts of the world. This year, we might perceive it even more intensely—for all kinds of reasons, both personal and collective.  But here’s the good news! Just like Advent, Diwali, Kwanzaa, and beyond, the Jewish calendar has its response strategy. In this darkest moment of the year, Hanukkah is our way to increase literal and figurative light to fight against the gloom with joyous rituals. Here are eight ideas, one for each night of the holiday, to transform this dark period into eight days of light, joy, and community.  All of these ideas are feasible alone, safely with your social bubble, and/or virtually with your community via Zoom, Facebook Live, or Instagram Live. 

• 1. 1. Share the light! Jewish texts encourage us not only to create light, but also to publicize and share it with others. For instance, we try to light hanukkiot (maybe you call them menorot) by windows to spread the light. The window becomes a connection point between your home and the public, between your gestures and collective hopes. You could: 
        • Create a hashtag like #MoisheHanukkah for all your community members to flood social media with pictures of their hanukkiot and candles every night.
        • Host a virtual or in-person DIY flying lantern workshop with your community and send them all in the sky at the same moment.
     2. Acknowledge miracles! Albert Einstein said: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” During Hanukkah, we acknowledge the diversity of what can be called a miracle: The military victory of the few over the many? The uncanny longevity and potential of limited resources? Or maybe the ability to create joy amid dark days? You could:
        • Host an online or in-person text-based conversation on what a miracle is in Jewish tradition.
        • Have people share on your social media (anonymously or not) a miracle they’ve witnessed or benefited from since last Hanukkah. 
     3. Eat yummy greasy food! Because of the importance of oil in the Hanukkah story, we eat fried foods during these days. You could:
        • Host an online cooking class for doughnuts (sufganiyot and/or bimuelos) or latkes (potato fritters). The good news is that even if your community is in lockdown, most of us can easily find these ingredients, or you may already have them on hand. (Remember to share the ingredient list in advance!)
        • Host an online weeklong cooking contest of sufganiyot or latkes! You can pick winners based on yumminess, creativity (sweet potato latkes?), and great pictures. Don’t forget to send them a prize!
     4. Gifts – but in reverse! Partially because of the connections between Jewish and Christian communities in Western countries and the overlap of Christmas and Hanukkah, many of us now have the tradition of giving and receiving gifts. You could:
        • Organize a community-wide Mystery Maccabee (gift exchange). Share a budget, a deadline, and a recipient with each of your interested community members and host an online present-opening party!
        • Organize an online giving circle! Have your community members suggest in advance organizations or causes they care about and then vote collectively on an organization to which you will all make a gift for this Hanukkah. Make sure to clarify that this is about coming together to show support and that the minimal giving amount is accessible to everyone. 
     5. Get crafty! There are several traditional props for Hanukkah. You may or may not have them at home, but you can surely DIY them! You could: 
        • Make a hanukkiah or even organize a community-wide DIY hanukkiah contest through social media? (wine bottles, mason jars, bottle caps, walnuts?)
        • Make dreidels, encourage people to create creative rules for this folk game, and host an online game night.
     6. Grow your internal light! The Hanukkah miracle is about keeping both physical and spiritual flames going. How do you keep yours these days?
        • Listen to this guided meditation from our own Jewish Educator, Yitzhak Bronstein
        • If you’re not the silent type, crowdsource a Hanukkah playlist with songs about light, fire, warmth, courage, etc. Or just use this one from Spotify and share it with your loved ones. Pump up the volume when the sun sets!
     7. Spark joy with minimalism! A rabbi once told me her beautiful six-word memoir version of the Hanukkah story: “There wasn’t enough, but there was.” Hanukkah is about acknowledging that quality trumps quantity and that the smallest flame can spark joy. 
        • If you’re into minimalism, you could play this 30-Day Minimalism Game with your community (maybe start by making it an eight-Day game in the spirit of Hanukkah?)
        • In the spirit of spreading joy and gifts, don’t just dump the things you decide to let go. Clean the items, and maybe even wrap them in beautiful paper. Try to think how to rehome each of these items intentionally: that friend told you they loved this sweater, the local neighborhood community center that could use your craft supplies for the kids they host, your cousin who has just started to bake and could use an extra mixing bowl, your colleague who told you about their growing interest in the topic of this book, etc. (Bonus minimalist tip: if you take a lot of time to rehome each item intentionally, you are less likely to refill your space impulsively with things that don’t fit your needs or joys.)
     8. Topple the patriarchy! (Yes—acharon acharon chaviv, I casually saved the best for last). In the Middle Ages, Hanukkah celebrated the heroine Judith, along with the valiant Maccabees. Judith, a Jewish widow, defeats the violent oppression of Assyrian general Holophernes with the powers of her mind, body, and soul. You could: 
        • Learn and share this story with your community through an online text learning or a series of posts (the story has been painted in dozens of beautiful paintings throughout the centuries), then discuss women’s access to power in your community. 
        • Create a hashtag for all your community members to flood social media with pictures of more female powerhouses. 

With just a single flame, you can light an infinite number of other flames without ever diminishing the first. And guess what?! Even with your eyes closed, when you do not see anything other than darkness, you can still see a flame (try it!). What are the flames you’ll be lighting this Hanukkah? We hope your community will join you in bringing many more flames in the uncertainty of this crazy winter 2020. Hanukkah sameah!