Skip to content

Guelph's Jewish community celebrates Chanukah at City Hall

Roughly 100 people attend what is believed to be the first time such an event has taken place at City Hall

It was a simple but significant event attended by roughly 100 people mostly from Guelph's Jewish community Tuesday night as Guelph City Hall hosted what is believed to be the first Chanukah celebration to take place there.

Chanukah, sometimes spelled Hanukkah, is the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.

Some of that food, a video showing various Chanukah celebrations around the world, children's entertainment, greetings from Mayor Cam Guthrie and words of wisdom from Rabbi Raphi Steiner took place before the traditional lighting of the menorah, with the Mayor helping do the honours.

"This is enormous for us. The first time ever for us that we are having something like this at City Hall," Rabbi Steiner said in an interview.

"There's far more people than we originally expected."

The holiday of Chanukah is all about spreading light, so it's so nice and so important to have people coming out to help spread that light.

"One of the messages of Chanukah is that the night can be so dark and all you need to do is light one candle and you can dispel much darkness."

Rabbi Steiner, who is director of Chabad of Guelph, which caters to the University of Guelph Jewish community, agreed that Tuesday's community event was a symbolic gesture of spreading that light in the Guelph community.

"We're so happy to be here," he said.

The Mayor said that he was thrilled the event could be held at City Hall.

"This celebration is more about your presence within the light and what you can do in the New Year, celebrating what is coming forward for you all.

"I want to encourage you all ... to think not only what you can do for your fellow man and your fellow woman, but the city as well," he said.

"The important thing about Chanukah is publicising the miracle of Chanukah, so we do it in a public space," Dr. Grand said.

Asked why it took so long to have a public event in Guelph, he said "sometimes it just never gets organized."

Tuesday's event was organized by Chabad of Guelph and the Beth Isaiah Synagogue.

Naomi Theodore of Beth Isaiah's board of directors, came to Guelph from a much bigger city with a much larger Jewish community.

"We realized that in Guelph we realized we were going to have to work a little bit harder and make a bit more of an effort to seek out and create community," Theodore said.

"We are blessed to live in a city that celebrates along with us," she said.

 

 

 


Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.




Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
Read more