Idaho Falls’ second ever Hanukkah celebration
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Sunset Thursday night marks the beginning of the final day of Hanukkah and with returns Idaho Falls' second ever Chanukah celebration.
The local community will gather at the Shilo Hotel in Idaho Falls to celebrate amid a year of extreme heartbreak for Jewish communities worldwide.
Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz, the organization’s director, oversees Jewish activities throughout the state of Idaho.
“This year, more than ever, we need to add light to illuminate the darkness,” Rabbi Lifshitz said. “Chanukah is a time to celebrate religious freedom and the victory of good over evil, of light over darkness. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than bringing people together.”
The event will feature a menorah lighting ceremony, Chanukah songs and music, Chanukah foods and treats. Rabbis will be on hand to lead the ceremony and program.
Rabbi Lifshitz wrote a short history of the holiday in an email.
"Hanukkah...recalls the victory of a militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people," Lifshits said. "who defeated the Syrian-Greeks who had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and practice. They desecrated and defiled the Holy Temple and the oil prepared for the lighting of the menorah–part of the daily service. Upon defeating their enemies and recapturing the Temple only one jar of undefiled oil was found, enough to burn for one day, but it lasted miraculously for eight. In commemoration, Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabrum known as a menorah, adding another candle each night. Today, the holiday carries a universal message of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness."
