Holidays are an integral part of Judaism. Holidays in Judaism are times when family’s come together, busy fathers and mothers turn off their phones detach themselves from the outside world and focus on their children. Children put away their textbooks and IPads and become a part of the family again. Holidays are a time to transcend this materialistic earth and join into the realm of spiritualism. Of the 7 major Jewish Holidays, five are from the bible and two were established by the Rabbis. The three Holidays are comprised of: Sukkot (The one with the huts and Myrtle branches), Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Passover, and Shavuot. On the five biblical Holidays, we are not permitted to work which means no: TV, cellphones, driving, writing, using laptops, turning on and off lights, cooking and baking, and countless other restrictions.
I choose Holidays as my topic to investigate in my community arts project, since it plays a huge part in my life. I am Jewish, I am orthodox, and I am practicing. Holidays are the things that I look forward to most. I love when my family comes together, detaches from the outside world, and connect to each other. Each Holiday comes with its own sets of rules and rituals. Each ritual is an art form passed from generation to generation. One Holiday that has a particular set of rituals that take the art from the residential to the community is, Hanukah.
Hanukah is an 8-day Holiday in which the main ritual is the lighting of a 9-candle candelabra called a “Chanukiah”. The “Chanukiah” must be lit in a part of your house that can be seen from the street. When you drive through a Jewish neighborhood you are greeted by beautiful bright “Chanukiah” in the windows of all the homes. The resulting light that is cast from each house creates a masterpiece for the world to see.
As an insider in the light of the Chanukah Holiday, I decided to focus my project on it. Ever since I can remember during the cold, dark winter months of December for 8 days the nights are illuminated. I have always taken for granted the fact that all communities are fortunate to have Chanukiah, since the people in my predominantly Jewish community have Chanukiah proudly displayed in their windows. After discussing with some of my peers I realized that many people had never seen a Chanukiah and those that had did not know the meaning behind the Chanukiah.
I read Hebrew texts on the history of Chanukah, to further expand my knowledge of the luminous Holiday. I discovered many aspects of the ancient Holiday that were previously unknown to me. I researched communities (using google) that had Chanukiah displayed in public. And I found out how some people who do not identify as “orthodox Jews” celebrated Chanukah. The biggest and coolest thing that I learned from this Project is the fact that the world’s largest public lighting of a Chanukiah occurs right here in NYC in central park.
Through my research I discovered that Chabad (a Hassidic sect of Judaism) lights Chanukiah in public places all across the globe. Some of these Chanukiah are on gondolas and some are made entirely of ice. The Chanukiah does not just light up Flatbush NY, but rather the entire globe. I discovered that not all Jews place candles or wicks in oil in their Chanukiah (as I saw in my community) but rather some people light electric menorahs where they turn on a switch to ignite their Chanukiah. I discovered the versatility and elections of Chanukah.
Chanukah to me has always been a Holiday with clear-cut rituals. In my family, we light 1 candle for each night of Chanukah (1st night 1, second night 2, third night 3… and so on). We only use specific kinds of “fire”, and are super meticulous that every man and unmarried woman lights their own Chanukiah. My friends and my family all had the same customs and rituals and thereby the same art form. After completing this project, I have come to realize that my previous small community comprised of Orthodox Jewish people has grown much larger. It now includes Jews from all different denominations and from all across the globe.
The Holiday of Chanukah is a Holiday of Light. The Conservative Jew “lighting” their electric Chanukiah spreads the same light that me and my orthodox Jewish community spreads. We are all one nation and all one community, connected by our faith and ritual. There is no Orthodox and “non-orthodox” there is only Chanukah. This new understanding of “one community” has allowed me to see all forms of Judaism as magnificent. I have realized that I too am eclectic and have a myriad of talents, and like a precious gem, all I need is a little light to make my colors shine bright.
This project was completed before December 12 which is when Chanukah started this year. I would have loved to survey a few different locations in NYC and observe the amount and variety of Chanukiah present. But sadly, since Chanukah didn’t start until after this project was completed I was forced to rely on internet research. Most of all I wish that I Would have been able to fly across the globe to a few different global locations to survey the amount and kinds of Chanukiah there. Even though these steps were not able to be performed before my community arts presentation. Over the past few days (December 12-19) I have gone with my family to a few neighborhoods in NYC and observed the Chanukiah there.
This project has taught me to be aware of the art in my community. I have learned to look around me at all times and observe the art. Now are the days of Chanukah and every time I look around me, I am greeted by art. This art has elevated Chanukah from an 8 day celebration, to 8 days of incredible art. What I am most grateful for having learned from this project is that, we all have light, we just express it in different ways.
