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GREAT CLOTHING INCLUDING DENIM, HATS, BAGS, SHOES AND MORE 1107 Van Ness Ave.Torrance, CA 90501 • 310.320-3207 LEE 101 USA, WOOLRICH, SAVE KHAKI, MINNETONKA MOCCASIN, PENNY, JAN SPORT, DULUTH, REYN SPOONER, TRETORN, BALL, BURTON, STANCE, RAINBOW SANDALS, FILSON, TEVA, NEW YORK HAT, PADDY WAX, RICHER & POORER, SCHOTT USA, STRATHTAY Open Mondays through Saturdays Noon to 6pm WE CAN SELL YOUR ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES FOR YOU ON eBay NOW is the Season to SHARE Bring any unwrapped gift, gift card or nonperishable food item to Studio Antiques and it will be donated to C.A.S.E. for our neighbors who need help this season. 337 Richmond St El Segundo 310-322-3895 9-5:30 studioantiques.com Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 By TerriAnn Ferren Photos by TerriAnn Ferren Hanukkah began on Tuesday, December 16 and ends on Wednesday, December 24, marking eight days of celebration by our Jewish brothers and sisters in the South Bay and around the world. But what does Hanukkah really mean and how do people celebrate today? Most of us know Hanukkah marks two miracles. One miracle is about the ‘Maccabees,’ the army of Jews who fought against the Greek army in the second century because they tried to force their Hellenistic worldly lifestyle on the people of Israel. Although the Jewish army was outmanned and outgunned, so to speak, they won. The second miracle celebrates when the Maccabees again liberated the Temple from the Greeks and wanted to light the Menorah. Only thing was, there was only enough oil for one night – and it took eight days to produce new oil. The miracle is that the Menorah burned brightly for eight days on one day’s oil. When I was growing up, I remember our neighbors down the street, the Goldhammers, would celebrate Hanukkah, but I never thought much about it. I played with dreidels (Yiddish for spinning top) and knew my Jewish neighbors didn’t put up a Christmas tree, but that was all I knew. One Christmas, my mom put blue lights in our front window to decorate - only to find out she had made a ‘Hanukkah bush.’ Later, I learned the 4 letters on the dreidel formed the phrase, Nes gadol hayah sham, which means, ‘a great miracle happened there’. After realizing I needed an expert, I called Temple Menorah and spoke with Jordan, the helpful secretary, who referred me to their Cantor, Kenneth Jaffe. Meeting with Cantor Jaffe was very inspiring and educational. “The word ‘cantor’ is actually not a Jewish word. It comes from the Latin – to chant. So it is a borrowing from the Latin which means a person who is a singer. The Catholic Church has a cantor too. It means someone who leads the service in melody…someone who leads liturgy,” said Ken. Cantor Ken lives with his wife Deanna and their 5 year old daughter Grace in the South Bay, having moved to California about 12 years ago from New York. Ken grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences Conservatory of Music, and became an opera singer. His music teacher was also a cantor and Ken was recruited to sing backup for some very fine cantors in New York City. In his mid 20s he was exposed to this amazingly beautiful music that moved him. The Hebrew word for cantor is ‘hazan’ – like the ‘j’ in Spanish kind of has that sound. It is a guttural sort of sound. Like Hanukkah. “I once - as a silly exercise tried to spell out all the possible ways of spelling Hanukkah and I think I came up with 17,” said Ken. Cantor Ken not only works at Temple Menorah but also at a congregation in Downey and told me “…When I am up there singing it is not about me. When I go back to the opera, I am much more self conscious than I used to be.” Cantor Ken told me when he was young, “I grew up in a pretty assimilated family. We were members of a reformed congregation. We lit candles as a family. A lot of families didn’t want to feel different and the neighbors – did you ever hear of a ‘Hanukkah bush’?” I couldn’t believe it! I told him my mother accidentally put one up once. We laughed. “We had this little bush and my parents thought me and my younger brother would want that. And at one point we said, ‘Why are we doing the Hanukkah bush, we’re Jewish.’ It is also disrespecting those who have their own tradition. I learned Hanukkah isn’t that big of a holiday in the Jewish religion and mostly, has gotten more popular because it is celebrated at Christmastime,” he said. “One thing that is very beautiful the older I’ve gotten and has made me love and appreciate Hanukkah all the more is celebrating Hanukkah as an American, and celebrating Hanukkah as a free person. The beauty of the message of Hanukkah is about religious freedom and being able to celebrate my traditions and yet at the same time somebody is celebrating Christmas and I can say, ‘Hey, Happy Christmas and I hope you have a wonderful time.’ It is not just my freedom but other’s freedom,” said Ken. I learned Hanukkah is a minor festival within the Jewish faith. There are, however a few more prayers and a few more readings done at the Temple on the holiday. You have the ritual lighting of lights for eight days. “One thing I have been doing for awhile at Downey is I have been doing a latkes table. So in my car I have all these fancy things. I have olive tapenade and I am going to get orange roe and some truffles and things like that. They can bring nice, nice jam and things like that. It’s the freedom to recast it and have fun,” added Ken. Ken told me that the Hanukkah celebration is really about the family being together and Rosh Hashanah and Passover are really the big holidays of Judaism. Ken summed up Hanukkah saying, “Basically, [Hanukkah] is a celebration of freedom and a triumph of the spirit over tyranny.” I learned so much from speaking with Cantor Kenneth and decided to ask a few others what they plan to do for Hanukkah. Hope Witkowsky told me that since she has been married, she has celebrated the Festival of Lights, where the Jews flee the tyrants and she told me, “Don’t let the lights go out.” When Hope was a little girl she loved lighting the menorah and getting eight gifts. It didn’t matter that her gifts were maybe a coloring book or a coin. It was a special day. Today, Hope keeps the tradition of Hanukkah alive with her five grandchildren. All the families come over to Hope and her husband Michael’s home and the children each bring their own menorah and light it. Can you imagine what a sight that must be? Latkes are also a big part of Hope’s celebration. She told me, “I make latkes and they gobble them up. They put applesauce on top.” The holiday tradition is kept in the Witkowskys’ home, especially since Hope made her Bat Mitzvah along with her granddaughter a few years ago. After speaking with Hope I then spoke with Brian Sunshine later that day. He told me when he was young, “We would do all eight nights and get really excited. We would hang a few decorations, and light the candles, and my parents made us do a Hanukkah dance around the house so my mom could sneak off and get the gifts. My parents would get us eight little gifts – so each night we would get a gift. But it wasn’t like today – an iPad – we would get little gifts to play with. Then one night would be designated for the big holiday party - usually a Saturday. My mom would have brisket and chicken, potato latkes, the whole nine yards.” I asked Brian if his mom made potato latkes, traditional because they are fried, and he said, “No, my dad did. He was known as the ‘latke king’. My poor mother would stand and grind them [the potatoes] and then he would mix them up and then destroy the kitchen. In fact there was so much oil in the kitchen you could stop and keep sliding. I like sour cream. I have a recipe and if I can find the grinder then I can make them. It has an attachment that actually liquefies the potato. I am not a fan of the ones that are like hash browns. It’s like a liquid sauce and then you put egg and a little flour, and salt and pepper and then fry them up. They are potato pancakes.” Brian told me Canter’s, Katella Deli, and the Pancake House has potato pancakes. “We would go to my parent’s house. We would light the candles here and then my mom would have the Hanukkah party. We lost her last year,” added Brian. All the talk about potato pancakes sent me on a quest to find some for lunch. After calling around, I ended up at the Pancake House ordering a big half order from my server, Antoinette Delaespriella who told me she takes over 50 orders of latkes a day. “Everybody comes in for them – with either sour cream and applesauce or ketchup and hot sauce,” said Antoinette. After having lunch, let’s just say I was very full. At 5 p.m. that evening, I attended the formal Menorah lighting ceremony at Torrance City Hall. Author and Rabbi Gary Spero, (who leads the Matzo Ball Minyan in his home), guided the celebration with additional comments by Dr. Rini Ghosh, Ph.D, Athia Carrim, and Bernadette St. James. That evening I got home and talked with my neighbor Carolyn Weyant, who told me she celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. Her mom was Jewish and her dad wasn’t so she did both. “I have my mother’s mother’s Menorah – such a treasure – which I use to light the Hanukkah candles every year. Mom was disowned when she married my dad; her parents were Russian Jews and would have no part of it. Mom and dad eloped. But finally mom’s sister arranged a meeting, all was forgiven, and my mom’s father asked my mom, ‘Are you happy’ and that was it. They loved my dad like a son forever! Oy, I’m getting verklempt!” said Carolyn. What a lovely way to end my Hanukkah journey. The light of peace, hope, miracles, tradition, sharing, love, unity, and, yes, potato pancakes. May this Hanukkah be a joyous one and a tradition all of us can celebrate. Happy Hanukkah! • Rabbi Gary Spero, Athia Carrim, Bernadette St. James, and Dr. Rini Ghosh, Ph.D.
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