One of the
greatest miracles that occurred during Chanukah and the Macabean revolt was
that there were Jews willing to stand up and fight against the over arching
power of the Greeks. Antiochus made
the observance of Judaism an offense punishable by death.
It is an
amazing miracle in our day that Jews can come together and celebrate Chanukah
out in the open, spreading light and sharing Torah for all to see.
The Mayanot
shul utilized the energy of the holiday to publicize this amazing miracle by
organizing a community event that over 250+ members, alumni and new friends
came to participate in.
This event turned out to be one
of the most joyous gatherings of people, art and music for the Chag.
Nathaneal
Harkham and his wife
Jacqueline Harkham, donated over 15 pieces of art for the event. Some of
the paintings included Jonah’s Journey, The Praying Tree, Light and Moshiach
and the funds of each
painting sold was donated to Mayanot.
David
Brooks, a Mayanot Alum and talented artist from Sydney Australia, donated 3 of the paintings he
created specifically for the Chanukah party. All of the art displayed
throughout the shul had biblical and kabalistic themes and everyone who came
out recognized the beauty and appreciated the creative atmosphere shared by
these amazing artists.
There were
two live painting stations, and the event ran late into the evening with the crowd
eagerly looking on as the paintings were created from start to finish.
A new member
to the Mayanot community, Dahlia Oziel remarked, “there were so many new
people to meet it was so nice seeing other young people in the community, and
the live music and painting display was spectacular.”
Community
members and new friends mingled and enjoyed the amazing music by the Nachman
Jam Band, which proved a huge success and added so much to
the simcha.
Rabbi
Gestetner, Dean of
the Mayanot Institute of Jewish Studies thanked everyone for coming out and
sharing in the light of Chanukah. Lighting the menorah together with so many
people partaking in the mitzvah, really made the whole gathering come together.
Projects
coordinator for Mayanot, Susie Muller, was very happy with the
event, “both artists demonstrated
their extreme talent and
with everyone who came out, we were able to spread light to people who might
not yet have felt
comfortable coming to shul”.
Mayanot would
like to thank Yossi Fraenkel, David Brooks and both Nethaneal & Jacqueline Harkhams
for collaborating on this amazing event. May we only continue to spread the
light and warmth of Chanukah into the rest of the year. Chag Sameach!
Check out the link to the video, Here!
