Yesterday, 834 people in a hangar in the Princeton, New Jersey airport
set the Guiness world record for the most Chanukiot lit at the same time.
I do not know if we could even get that many people
in Jerusalem, Israel, to agree on anything.
It is even hard to agree on the spelling in English.
Are they Chanukiot or Hannukiot?
This time of year in Jerusalem, Israel,
Hanukiot, special Hanukkah menorahs,
pop up on top of buildings,
and are displayed in windows
in all colors and types.
They are sold at many craft fairs before the holiday
and can be found on top of cars during Hanukkah.
We have done whole blogs on Just Chanukiot in the past
So what is new and different this year?
I set out yesterday to check the Jerusalem streets,
but did not get very far before the rain started.
There are those who count every single millimeter of water,
yesterday it came down in buckets.
When it rains in Jerusalem, the sky gets grey and the people go inside.
At one popular destination is the Israel Museum, the garden was empty,
as people looked for shelter and families filled the children’s sections,
where Hanukiot were made of recycled materials.
But I wanted to find the special Hanukkah exhibit
on Hanukiot
from around the world:
simple ones from Yemen
as well as ornate ones from Europe.
Families looked at the various small Chanukiot
and admired the large ones,
while the weather outside also got plenty of attention.
I really wanted to go across the street to see the new
“Fire” exhibit at the Bloomfield Science Museum.
But I was still wet, so I went home to get some hot tea and dry clothes.
Today the sun is shining again, it is a much better day for photos.
Happy Hanukkah!
Love the chanukiot!
Thanks!
Upon my arrival in Israel more than forty years ago, I too subscribed to the “Jerusalem mantra,” whereby Jerusalem was “the-eternal-undivided-capital-of-Israel-that-would-never-be-redivided” (one word, and a noun). It was consensus, the impermeable devotion to an article of faith. The harsh realities in the ensuing years undermined that faith, and finally, in the summer of 2000, during President Clinton’s Camp David summit, it collapsed. It then became apparent, and has remained so, that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians will end within the borders of a politically divided city. Jerusalem was deflowered at Camp David.
I guess there’s no correct way to spell it, just like there’s no one correct hanukiyah!
Some things are easier in Hebrew, חנוכה or חנכה oh dear two spellings there too… have a happy one.
Yes, I was thinking of that, also! Thanks for all your beautiful reporting and Hag Urim Sameach!
Pingback: Haveil Havalim! | ThinkJudaism