Celebrating Chanukah with Community at the JCC
“Chanukah is all about increasing light and all that light brings to our world—warmth, visibility, and illumination.”
— Jacqueline Marks
December 16, 2022
Come for the nightly community candle lighting, stay for a comedy show or party. Chanukah will be in full swing at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, December 18–25, with events for all ages. Chanukah is the wintertime festival of lights, a holiday that celebrates miracles, big and small, that is celebrated with traditional foods, special prayers, and nightly menorah lighting. It’s a beautiful opportunity to recognize the light that we can bring to one another and to the world.
“Chanukah is all about increasing light and all that light brings to our world—warmth, visibility, and illumination,” shares Jacqueline Marks, JCC chief children and family officer. “Chanukah occurs each year in the midst of a season when light feels so scarce, and these tiny flickers of light, increasing day by day, help to feed our beliefs and actions that build into illuminating forces of hope, joy, and connection.”
This year, the JCC will offer a collection of programs and events to celebrate the holiday, many free and open to the community, including nightly Chanukah candle lighting, with music, gelt, sufganiyot (donuts), and dreidels in the lobby from Sunday, December 18 (night 1) through Friday, December 23 (night 6) at 5 pm.
View all Chanukah Activities
No registration is needed for the candle lighting, and Marks invites the community “to join us at the JCC every night of Chanukah to kindle the lights of our menorah, and to increase our light by shining together as a community.” For the last two nights of Chanukah, Saturday, December 24 and Sunday, December 25, the JCC invites all to join a 4 pm, off-site candle lighting with residents of 305 West End Assisted Living.
“Chanukah is a funny, minor holiday. It has no particular liturgy, and it's not even mentioned in the Torah, Prophets, or Writings,” notes Sarah-Kay Lacks, senior director, special initiatives + Shabbat and holidays. “Having so few prayers and commandments associated with it means that there is no synagogue requirement and no restrictions on technology, work, or creating like we have on Shabbat and High Holidays. And, since there are few rules, we get to be expansive in our celebration. We can freestyle everything from how to spell it—Hanukah, Chanukah, Hanukkah or in Yiddish, Khanike—to how we celebrate it, like at the JCC with parties, shabbangs, and get togethers.”
On Thursday, December 22, stop by the JCC lobby from 2–4 pm for the Chanukah edition of Shabbat in the Town Square (SITTS). Make a Shabbat kit, with candles and challah, enjoy some music, and more. “Yesterday we celebrated our sixth SITTS of the year, giving out dreidels, chanukiyah candles, and gelt in addition to our usual goodies like challah and besamim spice bags. Together we have made 500 Town Square Shabbat bags since we started up again at the end of October,” shares Lacks.
The ever-popular 20s + 30s Annual Chanukah Party (always a sellout!) returns December 22, with an open bar, DJ, photo booth, art vendors, and holiday treats. “We even have a separate place for people to enjoy three different flavors of latkes, and donuts,” says Michael Kalmin, program coordinator, The Selma and Lawrence Ruben Center for 20s + 30s.
“We often see a mix of familiar and new faces at our events. It's always exciting to see people I recognize who have returned because of a positive experience at a previous event. The 20s + 30s Chanukah party is a great way to make a new friend for the new year ahead. We're also lucky to have enough space to fit the 300 people we're expecting this year.”
Other Chanukah events for adults include the holiday edition of Oy Gevalt comedy night, on Wednesday, December 21, starring comedians Lenny Marcus and Zarna Garg, and hosted by Ashley Austin Morris. A Chanukah-themed Shabbat Shabbang, the Friday night dinner event designed to welcome our community into the JCC building for a fabulous meal, a chance to meet new friends, and to experience fascinating programs, takes place on Friday, December 21. The evening begins in the lobby, with sharing of appetizers and Shabbat rituals, before dividing into different program tracks for topics including What Does It Mean to Be a Bad Jew?, with author and journalist Emily Tamkin, and a live music event. A Chanukah Story of Miracles and/or Zionism?
There will also be Chanukah celebrations for infants + young children, as well as modern agers.
On Monday, December 19, the JCC will join UJA’s Shine A Light movement in Times Square (Broadway and 47th Street), to dispel the darkness and to raise awareness about antisemitism. The evening will be emceed by Ariel Elias, and following a menorah lighting, will include performances by Nissim Black; the Moshav Band; David Herskowitz, Miami Boys Choir alum and TikTok star; The Ramaz Upper School Choir; and an appearance byTikTok influencer Montana Tucker.
For details on all JCC Chanukah events, including the nightly community candle-lighting schedule, holiday resources, recipes, and volunteering opportunities, visit chanukah.mmjccm.org.
Story Editor: Lauren Magy. Lauren is the Director of Public Relations + Community Engagement at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. She has worked at theater and cultural institutions in DC and NY for the past decade.