This year, Chanukah begins Thursday, December 7 and ends Friday, December 15. Celebrate with us Friday, December 8th for our Chanukah Shabbat and Candle lighting, a beloved yearly tradition, filled with songs, the light of community, and a doughnut truck for sufganiyot and other delicious treats. Read on for more information on celebrating the Festival of Lights with Rodef Sholom.
WOMEN OF RODEF SHOLOM HOLIDAY GIFT SHOP HOURS:
Monday - Thursday, 10am - 3pm
Friday, 11:30am - 2pm
Sunday 10am - 12:30pm
Location: Osher Marin JCC, Foyer (1st floor)
All Chanukah Events
Yehi 'or—let there be light this holiday season though love, compassion, and willingness to help others through their own darkness.
Help us spread light to our community, just as the candles of our menorahs flood our hearts and homes with warmth! This Chanukah, we invite you to participate in Eight Days and Nights of Mitzvah Moments, a series of community-strengthening opportunities. Feel free to select from the options below to get started, or create your own.
Mitzvah Moments December Opportunities:
DAY ONE: Donate a Toy to Canal Alliance (through December 14): Drop off a new, unwrapped toy (age 0-10) or gift card in the bin at the JCC lobby or bring it to our Chanukah Shabbat on December 8.
DAY TWO: Donate a turkey to help feed St. Vincent de Paul clients over the holidays: Turkeys may be dropped off at at 820 B Street in San Rafael, 7 days a week between 7am and 1pm. Just knock on the door! Thank you for helping with this holiday mitzvah of a warm, festive meal.
DAY THREE: Consider donating to support one (or more!) of the organizations providing crucial on-the-ground support to Israel. Now more than ever, Israel needs your support. Click here to donate
DAY FOUR: Food and Volunteers Needed for Jonathan's Place Monthly Dinner on Tuesday, December 19:
Congregation Rodef Sholom is proud to support residents of the new Jonathan's Place Shelter (formerly Mill Street Shelter) by providing dinner once a month on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Sign up here
DAY FIVE: Drop off Food to the Rodef Sholom Community Fridge (Ongoing): The Rodef Sholom Community Fridge provides food for our Santa Venetia neighborhood. The fridge is open 24/7 , located at 160 N. San Pedro Road, at the rectory offices of Bay Marin Church. We invite you to stop by anytime.
DAY SIX: A Day of Self-Care: During the holiday season, with its focus on external giving and activities, turn your focus of love, caring, and giving inward. Whether it's a quiet moment, a hike, a movie date, or a small gift, take the time to do something that bolsters your spirits and fills your soul this season!
DAY SEVEN: Kaddish Minyan (Wednesdays at 9am on Zoom): The best and easiest mitzvah is to show up for those who have lost a loved one in our community. Join on Zoom
FULL! DAY EIGHT: Food and Volunteers Needed at Jonathan's Place Shelter's Christmas Dinner on Monday, December 25:
Fill plates and hearts this holiday season, and consider volunteering at Jonathan's Place Shelter's Christmas Dinner.
ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES:
Dayenu: Host a postcard writing station at a community Hanukkah party or candle lighting as part of Dayenu's A Time to Build campaign. Send a message to your Governor: ensure crucial investments in climate, jobs, and justice reach every community – especially those that need them the most. Learn more here
The Religious Action Center (the RAC): Download the RAC's social justice guide for Chanukah. Download the Guide
What: Chanukah, one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays, is a festive eight-day celebration that for many people falls during the darkest, coldest season of the year. Also called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is often celebrated with singing and playing special songs and games (dreidel), and eating foods prepared in oil including latkes, sufganiyot, bimuelos (fried dough puffs) and keftes de prasas (leek patties). Candles are lit for each of the nights of the holiday on a branched menorah (also called a hanukkiyah).
Why: At what is the coldest, darkest time of the year for many people, we celebrate by bringing light and warmth into our homes, into our communities and into the world around us. In the Talmud, the rabbis taught that the mitzvah of Chanukah, is a “candle for each man and his household” (the modern Reform understanding is that this text refers to everyone, not just men). So the actual mitzvah, or commandment, of the holiday is to kindle the Chanukah lights at home!
Who: Chanukah, meaning "dedication" in Hebrew, commemorates the victory of a small group of Jewish rebels (led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers, collectively known as “the Maccabees”) over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and "rededication" of the Temple in Jerusalem.
