Chanukah in Israel is a time of light, latkes, and lots of doughnuts! It is a truly festive time when you see a chanukiah in every window, attend cultural events, and tour ancient sites of the Maccabees.
At Congregation Darchei Noam, we kicked off the festival with our traditional display of chanukiot – everyone brings their chanukiah (menorah) from home and shares its history and some even make special creative chanukiot – from a paint palette chanukiah to a recycled bottle chanukiah to a ceramic chanukiah made to look like ancient oil vessels. We sang traditional as well as modern Israeli Chanukah songs as veteran member Hezi Bilik accompanied on the accordion.
We also celebrated the zeved ha'bat v'ha'ben, the baby naming ceremony, of twins Tamar and Yotam. Aliza, their mother, grew up at Darchei Noam and was one of the founding members of Noar Telem, the Israeli Reform youth movement. She was also an early member of Reform Kibbutz Lotan, where she met her husband Amir. Rabbi Blank blessed the children and explained the meaning of their names – Tamar, meaning date, reminds Aliza and Amir of the date-palms of Lotan and their hope for a sweet life, and Yotam, inspired by a brave king of ancient Israel.
Other events at Darchei Noam happening over Chanukah:
- A special family program led by Jewish Educator and member Smadar Bilik full of music, stories, and holiday traditions.
- Our teens and their families are hosting a group of teenagers from the King David Progressive Day School in Melbourne, Australia over Shabbat.
- Our "Lens Into Judaism" teen workshop will be sharing a special presentation of photos.
Update on the Synagogue Building
We will soon be starting the installation of the exterior of the building in beautiful white stone. This process is supposed to include installing the windows and doors of the synagogue. We only need $50,000 to ensure that we can fully complete this stage of the building process.
Consider Darchei Noam as a worthy tax-deductible recipient for your end-of-the-year contributions!
Contact us about naming opportunities in memory or in honor of loved ones.
Help write our new mezuzah -- You can donate one letter for $18.
Renew Your Overseas Member for only $180!
Your membership will get you a yearly glossy newsletter with recognition of your contribution and Darchei Noam memorabilia in the mail. Your contribution helps ensure that we will always be your Reform “home away from home” in Israel.
Please visit one of the following web sites to make your tax-deductible contribution:
http://kbyonline.org/darchei_
Please designate the contribution for “Congregation Darchei Noam – Israel”.
Or send a check to:
Congregation Darchei Noam, P.O. Box 1309, Ramat HaSharon 47100, ISRAEL
Phone:972-3-5473594 Fax: 972-3-5493230
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