By NY1 News
Jews around the city are getting set for Hanukkah, the festival of light which begins tonight at sundown.
The holiday marks the Jews’ rebellion against the Greek leader Antiochus, who outlawed Jewish religious customs. When the Jews rededicated the temple, the wicks of the menorah burned for eight days, seven longer than expected for the amount of oil they had.
Jews celebrate by lighting the menorah for eight nights, exchanging gifts, and eating oily foods such as potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts.
In celebration of the holiday, the Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn is holding a workshop on how to make olive oil, which will then be used to light the menorah.
“We put them in the press, we squeeze the olives, put them in the centrifuge, pull out that little bit of oil and light it,” explained Rabbi Chaim Hershkowitz of the Jewish Children’s Museum.
“And that experience of the kids witnessing what it meant to travel eight days to go get oil, squeeze it, press it, bring it back, brings the story of Hanukkah to life rather than just something they learn about in class.”
For more information on the Jewish Children’s Museum’s events, go to JCM.museum.
Great job chaim!