The Transylvania University is celebrating Hanukkah this year with a menorah candle lighting and prayer each evening in the Campus Center through Monday.
Everyone is invited to the events, which begin at 5:15.
“I’m excited that we’re providing a space for Jewish students, staff and faculty on campus to celebrate Hanukkah,” said religion professor Leslie Ribovich (pictured above). “I hope we can create such spaces for other Jewish holidays, too.”
Earlier this week, the campus community was invited to join University of Kentucky’s Jewish Student Life and Kentucky Hillel in Triangle Park for another menorah lighting. Transylvania’s Office of Spirituality and Religious Life often encourages students to participate in events hosted by Hillel, such as a Sukkot and Shabbat celebration earlier this fall.
Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, “reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates in particular the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. “Although not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, Hanukkah came to be widely celebrated and remains one of the most popular Jewish religious observances.”
In addition to menorah candle lighting, Hanukkah traditions include “saying the blessings, making and eating potato latkes (pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) — both cooked in oil — and playing dreidel, a game of chance played with a four-sided top.”