Lead kindly light, 2,000 years on…

You could simply call it our kind of Diwalirdquo a friend once declared when we were still in school Indeed for Judaism globally Hanukkahmdashalso spelt as Chanukahmdashis its festival of lightsThe Jewish month of Kislev or Chislev remarkable for the festival of Hanukkah beginning on its 25th day occurs in line with the Gregorian calendar any time from November 28 to December 27 This year the first day of Hanukkah falling on December 25 has coincided with Christmas for only the fifth time since 1900 The last combined occurrence of the two feasts was in 2005Noreen Elijah unveils the 2025 JRU centenary logo designed by Brian seated beside and Asma Elijah standing rightmostThe Hanukkah tradition of lighting lamps or candles over eight consecutive nights derives from a vital episode of Jewish historymdashwhen the community won back Jerusalemrsquos Second Temple after a band of brave Maccabees successfully revolted against the Greeks around 164 BCE Rejoicing with a triumphant rededication ceremony on defeating Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid empire they found there was olive oil enough to light the wick of the menorah lampstand for just a single nightDismay gave way to astonishment when instead the pure oil lasted eight entire nightsTo commemorate that miracle Jewish families and friends still light the ninebranched Hanukkah menorah candelabrum for eight consecutive nights The main flamemdasha ldquostarterrdquo at the centre called shamash ldquoattendantrdquo on either side of which are four upturned branchesmdashis lit the first evening It in turn illuminates the second lamp and so on Each night a fresh arm of the menorah glows till nine flames flicker strong on the eighthA menorah fitted with oil lamps instead of candlesDescendants of the Maccabee family the Hasmonean dynasty extended from 140 to 37 BCE In an article titled ldquoWhy Hanukkah became such a big dealrdquo Rabbi Dr Zev Farber has written ldquoThe symbolic lighting of candles mimics a ritual act in the Temple but at the same time the festivalrsquos significance lies in how it marks the beginning of Judean political independence under the Hasmoneans This achievement should not be minimisedrdquoJews covering the spectrum from Reform to Conservative to Orthodox believe in the transformative effect of bringing light into darkness A household typically places the menorah to be seen from the outside in a doorway or on a windowsill emblematic of casting good energy Born in Raipur and brought up all over the Central Provinces where her father was a civil surgeon having attended to Gandhiji too in Wardha Ruth Crishna says ldquoWe lit a lovely brass lamp with a few prayers Then we were more interested in the gifts Throughout my dadrsquos postings we were the only Jewish familyComing to Bombay we lived in Santa Cruz and went to the Parel synagogue where my fatherrsquos brother was the cantor or hazzan who led the congregation reading prayers But Hanukkah was marked mostly at home After dad passed my mother joined the reformist JRU Jewish Religious Union formed by her cousin Dr Jerusha Jhirad in 1925rdquoTraditional oil lamps glow in the Beth El synagogue at PanvelBesides importantly encouraging English translations of Hebrew prayers the JRU embraces the practice of Bat Mitzvah the female equivalent of Bar Mitzvah initiating members to the fold and recognises women rabbis as well Crishna was active in the Youth Group and her mother was in the Sisterhood the ladiesrsquo subcommittee organising fundraisers fetes and excursionsEzra Moses has said in The Reform Jewish Movement in India ldquoMuch to contrary belief the JRU did not cater to any specific group of Jewish people in the city It was coincidental that the majority joining was Bene Israel and not IraqiBaghdadi Jewsrdquo The Bene Israel literally ldquoChildren of Israelrdquo are descendants of survivors shipwrecked off the Konkan coast about 2000 years ago after the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem Baghdadi Jews settled in 19thcentury India while the oldest surviving documents including a merchantrsquos charter of Cochin Jews date to 1000 CE Progressive circles abroad and the Sassoon trusts were at the forefront of benefactors enabling the JRU to obtain the Rodef Shalom synagogue premises in Byculla Burning down in the 1993 riots this iconic structure lost invaluable Torah scrolls and volumes of religious text it housed in what was considered one of the finest collections of Jewish literatureHanukkah at Bayiti Third from left 1920s30s Hindi actress Susan Solomon whose screen name was Firoza spent her last days in this home for the agedldquoLiving nearby on Sussex Road presently Dadoji Kondev Marg my family prayed at this synagoguerdquo says Elijah Jacob Honorary Secretary of the JRU Services Committee He shares a photograph of the beautiful building where Rodef Shalom occupied the third floorEarlier concentrated in neighbourhoods like Mazagaon Byculla Sandhurst Road Dongri and Jacob Circle the Jewish community spread in Thane towards the end of the 19th century The need for their own site of worship here resulted in the Shaar Hashamaim ldquoGate of Heavenrdquo synagogue opening in December 1879 during Hanukkah It now has a robust number of about 1500 membersldquoAs we were in Malad when I was a child my family travelled the distance to the Magen Hassidim synagogue at Agripada The hourlong train journey was all right for Hanukkah but far for daily prayers Shifting to Thane was perfectrdquo says Samuel Daniel a former trustee and current president of the Thane synagogue which observed its 145th anniversary last SundayDebbie Kanga lights the menorah in her Toronto home with the festive Christmas tree behindHis son Ronen a regular at Shaar Hashamaim for over 30 years was fascinated as a twoyearold by his grandfatherrsquos rendition of passages from the Torah ldquoAfter my Bar Mitzvah I listened to sermons on Saturday and readings from the original ancient Hebrew Every day of Chanukah we recite the complete Hallel sequence of gratitudethemed psalmsrdquoRonen describes the Chanukah game of dreidel a throwback to the time King Antiochusrsquo armies controlled the Holy Land His powerful regime outlawed study of the Torah forcing young Jews to resort to ldquoundergroundrdquo learning Children did this in outlying forest areas Ever alert in case of a Greek patrol passing they quickly pulled out small tops to pretendplay withThane resident Ezra Moses not the gentleman of the same name quoted earlier offers ldquoHanukkah has usually been more of a private celebration and looking to the situation around the world quieter both at home and in synagogues today Menorahs which are not fitted with candles but with glass jars containing coconut oil sometimes also have bright colours added to the water baserdquo Rina Rebello nee Moses from Bandra says ldquoWe visited my grandfather in Byculla MA Moses and his wife Sheba followed by their son Abraham ran the popular Our Musical Salon on Clare Road every Friday for prayers For Hanukkah we would light the menorah and have a nice meal of chicken curry ricerdquo As the oil had burned on so long foods fried in cooking oil are an essential part of this extended week Fried chicken kanda bhaji and potato pancakes are dishes families eat together with sweet rice cooked with ghee cashews and saffron Solomon Sopher president of the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue in Kala Ghoda and head of the cityrsquos Baghdadi Jews has confessed to enjoying a personal favourite treat of deepfried wheat donuts topped with jam or jellyRina readies for a programme to unveil the logo announcing a century of the JRU this year at the Podar ORT School in Worli on the same day the Shaar Hashamaim marks its milestone anniversary in Thane Meanwhile her pianist daughter Salome Rebello shares memories from Germany where she is an acclaimed choral conductor and music educatormdashldquoWe celebrated Hanukkah in our Chuim village home in Bandra The lighting of the candles at sunset involved saying a blessing and wishing each otherSometimes a close friend interested in what we were doing came to see what it was The lighting didnrsquot last more than 10 to 15 minutes Yet it was always cute because most often this happened while our tiny living room was also decorated fully for Christmas with the tree and trappingsrdquoIn the US Jewish families have been known to dress a Hannukah bush Not a widely serious practice this display for the duration of Hanukkah and Christmas may be Star of Davidthemed rather than stringing conventional Xmas tree decorationsldquoThough individual homes have varying degrees of observance in my memory Hannukah was not a major festival among the Bene Israelrdquo recalls Dr Arun Gadre a surgeon settled in Pennsylvania who grew up in Sarah Lodge situated on the midpoint periphery of Shivaji Park ldquoIn our grandparentsrsquo home they would light the menorah and my grandfather said prayers in HebrewAs children we never understood them but were told of their divine significance The food our grandmother made was really delicious We waited for sweets likesuterfeni bought from Dayaram Damodar at Dadar TTrsquos Khodadad Circle But the amazing halwa she prepared in her own kitchen involved a whole lot of stirring And of course best were attractive little gifts waiting for all the kidsrdquo Whatever the local customs governing various members of the community they all bear in mind the basic exhortation one who sees a Hanukkah light should recite a blessing A poignant tribute to a miracle of faith two millennia agoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom