Steven Schwartz, Vice President of Basketball Strategy for Utah Jazz, left, Elizabeth Smart, Rabbi Avremi Zippel and Rabbi Benny Zippel, attend a menorah lighting ceremony during halftime of a Jazz-Portland Trail Blazers game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City attend on Monday when Utah’s Chabad Lubavitch hosts the fifth Jewish Heritage Night with Jazz. (Shafkat Anowar, Desert News)
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SALT LAKE CITY – The annual Hanukkah celebration focuses on bringing light and warmth to life and finding positivity and light to dispel negativity and darkness, according to Rabbi Avremi Zippel of Utah.
“These are issues that we believe are universal. These are topics that we believe should be part of our lives all year round. And I think we use the days of Hanukkah to get inspiration for it, and we hope to live by these ideals this year – round, “said Rabbi Zippel.
Often referred to as the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is an annual eight-day celebration that began on Sunday this year and will end on December 6th. It celebrates a Jewish military power that defeated their enemy in ancient Israel and a small amount of immaculate oil that the group found after retaking the temple. This small amount of oil kept the temple menora burning for eight days and gave them time to produce more oil.
On Sunday, members of the Jewish community and others, including Governor Spencer Cox, gathered at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City to light a menorah and begin the celebrations of the year. Rabbi Zippel said they have had menorah lighting in the Capitol since 2014, despite last year’s event being held outdoors in the parking lot due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rabbi Zippel said the experience this year was “absolutely fantastic”.
“Doing it like it was in the past few years (inside), obviously with some minor tweaks … it was almost like looking back at two different times. I think it gave people a lot of hope, ”he said.
This is a time of year to bring people together, said Rabbi Zippel. During Hanukkah, he said that many Jews participate in community activities that otherwise would not associate with the community, and they value interactions and relationships with others in the wider community.
At a jazz game on Monday, the fifth Jewish Heritage Night with the Utah Jazz Organization, Rabbi Zippel said dozens of people came up to him and told him that they were not members of the Jewish faith but were happy to do so do see jazz supporting other groups in the community.
“We are excited to bring Utah’s most active Hanukkah festival of all time to our community and to invite the general public to participate,” said the rabbi in a press release on the week’s events. “We look back with great gratitude to the response of the entire city and state to the anti-Semitic incident that occurred at the Chabad community center in May, and we now invite all who stood by us in our moment of grief to rejoice in the celebration in our moments. “
One of the outstanding Hanukkah events is a Car Menorah Parade, which is scheduled for the evening of December 4th. When Chabad groups across the country pondered how to celebrate Hanukkah during the COVID pandemic, they decided that a parade of vehicles with Menoras on them might be a good way to celebrate.
Rabbi Zippel said that people really enjoyed the parade last year and are looking forward to the event this year and that it looks like the car parade will become an annual tradition.
“It has been an incredible Hanukkah so far and we are delighted to end it with a climax,” he said.
Salt Lake City Council members and police will be in the parade and help light the menorah.
“Unfortunately, these are people we normally come into contact with when it comes to a moment of sadness, or a tragedy, or an emergency,” said Rabbi Zippel, “and that’s why we are always happy to bring out some of our first responders.” and the leaders of this community to join us in a happy environment. “
He also noted that this Hanukkah celebration marks the beginning of Jan.
“When we look back and how much has been achieved by my parents and how much the community has grown in these 30 years, then that fills us with gratitude for me. And it really motivates us for the future when we see our country and our city. ”And our region is just going through so much exponential growth. … I think it’s just a really, really exciting time, “he said
People interested in the celebration of Hanukkah can attend the December 4th vehicle parade, which goes from Chabad Lubavitch, Utah, 1760 S 1100 East, through Salt Lake City to the public menorah at Abravanel Hall Plaza, 123 W. South Temple leads . Details of the route can be found on the Chabad Lubavitch website.
There are also a limited number of places to take part in the car parade. If you have any questions about the parade or how to participate, email [email protected].
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