Rabbi Yaakov Kotlarsky lights the menorah at North School Park in Arlington Heights to mark the fifth night of Hanukkah during a celebration Sunday hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
It has been a year of challenges for the Jewish community as it faces an ongoing rise of antisemitism, the holding of Jewish hostages by Hamas, and Israel’s ongoing military conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere.
But the year culminates in a festival marking the triumph of light over darkness, and the resilience of the Jewish people in the face of a threat to their faith.
Jews from the Northwest suburbs gathered Sunday in Arlington Heights to celebrate Hanukkah with music, games, food and the lighting of the menorah.
“Hanukkah is just a perfect example of one of those events that brings us together as a community,” said Arlington Heights resident Laura DiMasi, who wore mini-menorah earrings while attending the celebration with her husband, Paul, and 4-year-old daughter Tessa. “We all have a commonality, and it’s something to celebrate and embrace.”
But amid the joy, the events in Israel and Gaza were still on people’s minds.
“There are still hostages. There is still a war going on,” DiMasi said.
Hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights, the event began at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library for latkes, dreidel games and menorah-themed crafts.
The group then walked to North School Park for the annual menorah lighting. The center’s co-director and rabbi, Yaakov Kotlarsky, recited the Shema, the Hebrew prayer proclaiming in the oneness of God.
Arlington Heights firefighters drop chocolate coins called gelt to waiting children Sunday during a menorah-lighting ceremony at North School Park in Arlington Heights.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
The holiday commemorates the victory of the Maccabees, a group of Jewish freedom fighters, over the Syrian-Greek occupiers of Judea in the second century before the common era. The Maccabees recaptured the temple and lit the menorah, which, with only enough pure oil for one day, miraculously burned for eight days.
Arlington Heights resident George Sachs said Hanukkah rekindles childhood memories of presents. But it also contains a valuable lesson.
“When rationally everything is overwhelming, it stands for hope,” he said.
Several dignitaries joined Rabbi Kotlarsky, including Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes and state Sen. Mark Walker.
“This is an empowering moment,” Kotlarsky said. “We’re united by a shared vision to create a beautiful world, a world of justice, light, kindness, filled with mitzvahs.
“The best way to resist darkness is by focusing on introducing light in every generation, even when powerful forces seek to destroy our Jewish life,” he added.
Arlington Heights resident Susan Auvinen takes a selfie with a dancing dreidel mascot Sunday during a menorah-lighting ceremony at North School Park in Arlington Heights.
Ryan Rayburn for the Daily Herald
