Faith & Spirituality | Hamden | Hanukkah | Arts & Culture
Joe and Betty Lou Blumberg with a friend. Grayce Howe Photos.
“How often does the first night of Hanukkah fall on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?” asked Lauren Piscitelle, president of Temple Beth Sholom. A few dozen people gathered in the Whitney Center's dining room before her. She gave the crowd three options: A (once every six years), B (twice every seven years), or C (once every 15 years).
”C! Once every fifteen years,” attendees shouted, in a mixture of voices young and old.
On Wednesday evening, the town of Hamden hosted a multigenerational Hanukkah Celebration at the Whitney Center, a non-profit retirement community for residents of Greater New Haven. The event, which included Hanukkah trivia, remarks, and traditional holiday treats, brought together at least 50 people, including members of the Whitney Center, and residents of New Haven and Hamden.
Hanukkah commemorates the second-century victory of Judah the Maccabee and his band of Jewish soldiers against the larger Seleucid army, during which they reclaimed and rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. That’s the miracle: in the temple, they found a trace amount of oil that lasted for eight nights—far longer than it should have.
The festival, celebrated with menorahs that are lit one candle at a time, lasts for eight nights. This year, it runs from Dec. 25 of this year through Jan. 2, 2025.
Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett and Whitney Center Resident Esther Crystal.
“We wanted to come together and understand how people celebrate and love,” said Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett, noting that past Hanukkah events have not always received the turnout they deserve, perhaps due to their locations in the cold weather outdoors. “We’ve held many cultural events around the holidays that I’m really hoping will break down barriers.”
This year, she added, the town wanted to host an event all about communal celebration. The Whitney Center, which fosters intergenerational bridge building, felt like the right venue. Wednesday, many residents showed up with family members, from their sons and daughters to their grandkids. Kids ran around, some excited to catch an early celebration of the holiday.
“It’s really nice to bring people together, young and old, that’s really beautiful,” said Whitney Center Vice President Ken Sandberg, adding that building community is at the core of what the organization does. Sandberg takes pride in strengthening it any chance the space gets.
That was evident Wednesday, as roughly 50 attendees sat for trivia, sipped on tea and savored the taste of warm latkes, or fried potato pancakes often served with sour cream and apple sauce. Latkes, which come out of the Ashkenazi or European Jewish tradition, are commonly prepared for Hanukkah to celebrate the oil that lasted eight days (sufganiyot, or jelly donuts, and other fried foods are also popular).
Whitney Center resident Esther Crystal, who also serves on the organization’s board of government affairs, pointed to the importance of remembering the holiday’s history and origins. Growing up in the 1930s, she and family members observed Hanukkah as a fairly minor Jewish holiday, one that was about spending time with loved ones, rather than receiving presents.
“This event gave a perspective of the true meaning of the holiday, so that it’s not about giving gifts,” Crystal said. She pointed to the young children running around and playing together, “This was very nice, and it has a nice attendance.”
Not far from Crystal, husband and wife Joe and Betty Lou Blumberg also remembered growing up celebrating Hanukkah alongside each other, as their families belonged to the same synagogue during their youth. Decades ago, Betty Lou attended James Hillhouse High School, from which she graduated in 1957. Joe is an alum of The Hotchkiss School.
“The idea that a person can follow his, her, their philosophy or religion is to me the most important thing,” Betty Lou said, “And to be what one wants to be in a world that is very complicated is a gift, and that’s why I love celebrating Hanukkah.”
For them, both added, Hanukkah is about giving love and culture a chance to shine. While neither finds Hanukkah especially sacred or important—that honor goes to Passover and Yom Kippur—they are still proud that Hanukkah gives time to reflect on what is written in the Torah.
“Love thy neighbor, honor thy father, feed the poor, be kind to your neighbor, forgive others,” Betty Lou said. “Those sentiments are what I love about Judaism, and of all religious practices.”
Grayce Howe was the Arts Paper's 2024 New Haven Academy intern and is now in her senior year. The New Haven Academy internship is a program for NHA juniors that pairs them with a professional in a field that is interesting to them. Grayce plans to continue writing for the Arts Paper throughout her senior year, so keep an eye out for her byline in these pages!