The Jewish Festival of Hanukkah

Presenter: Rabbi Jeremy Parnes
The annual celebration of Hanukkah occurred on November 18th this year. As Hanukkah falls near Christmas, and involves gift-giving, it is often seen as a sort of Jewish Christmas. Actually, Hanukkah commemorates the retaking of Jerusalem in the second century BCE by Jewish rebels known as the Maccabees, and their purification and rededication of the temple. This presentation looked at the celebration of Hanukkah by the Jewish community in Regina and in other parts of the world.  In the process of explaining Hanukkah, Rabbi Parnes gave us a number of insights regarding the history of the Jews and his own personally held belief that we should all recognize, understand, and respect our differences.