The smell of latkes, along with smiles and laughter, filled Kylie Shelton’s house as she celebrated Hanukkah with her friends of various religious backgrounds. The junior communication studies major spent the night playing dreidel, lighting the menorah and sharing stories about the traditions of Hanukkah. 

“People were very curious, like, ‘What are the candles for? What are the dreidels for?’” Shelton said. “It was nice to use my knowledge of Jewish day school to help explain the stories a little better. I was worried that no one would want to come … (but) every single person that we invited came. It was just so nice to be able to celebrate our holiday just like I’ve celebrated some of my Christian friends’ holidays.” 

For others interested in celebrating or learning about Hanukkah, the Fish Interfaith Center is hosting various events this week to promote community and togetherness. These activities are open to members of the Chapman community from all religious backgrounds.

Friday’s event is a One Table, One Community Shabbat dinner at 5 p.m., which will include a baked potato bar and a walk to the Orange Circle to light the menorah and have dessert. Saturday night, Rabbi Heidi Cohen from HaNefesh, a local Jewish community with an emphasis on inclusivity, is coming to light the menorah and do havdalah — a ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the week. Following the services, there will be pizza, jam-filled doughnuts and live music where people are encouraged to bring their guitars and “jam.”

Another way to celebrate is with Chabad at Chapman, a student organization centralized around on-campus Jewish life. Chair of Chabad at Chapman Talya Malka, a sophomore communication studies major, emphasized the organization’s goal of providing a safe space for Jewish students to celebrate their identity and religion. This Hanukkah, they are hosting Shabbat on Friday night at 7 p.m., and all participants must RSVP.

“We have Shabbat every week, but it’s going to be Hanukkah-themed this week, which will be really nice,” Malka said. “Everyone who’s gone (to the Rabbi’s house) knows that his house is always open. If you want a latke or a doughnut or (to) light candles with them, they will welcome you in with no questions asked, so it’s always an open home for anyone who wants to celebrate there. The board (of Chabad) makes it clear that if you don’t want to celebrate alone, there’s so many options.” 

A common misconception of Hanukkah is that it is the Jewish version of Christmas; however, Rabbi Corie Yutkin, chaplain at Fish Interfaith Center and director of Jewish life at Chapman, explained the roots of the holiday are just as complex as they are miraculous.   

The story of Hanukkah originates in the second century BCE when a group of Jews led by Judah Maccabee revolted against the Hellenists, who were trying to adopt Greek culture after they destroyed the Jewish Temple. The Maccabees found a small cruse of oil to light the eternal flame that burns over where the Torah is, which was only supposed to last them one day but ended up lasting for eight.

“I think it’s more of a story about standing up for your right to believe in your faith tradition, for standing against tyranny,” Yutkin said. “It’s called Hanukkah, which means to rededicate. So we rededicated the Temple. The root of the Hebrew word is chinukh, which is also education. We have to educate and rededicate ourselves.” 

Yutkin told the Panther the most important idea to be taken away from the holiday’s origins is that everyone was able to gather together as one community. 

“Let’s just find opportunities to come together and learn from one another about what our faith traditions are, learn about what our cultural traditions are and try different foods,” Yutkin said. “We celebrate all these different holidays, and we do this as a community, because we recognize that we need to appreciate everyone’s culture, their religion, their perspective and find a way to honor that. So all our events are open to anybody.” 

To check out a schedule of upcoming events, visit the Fish Interfaith Center calendar.