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“Such a wonderful tradition in a non-traditional family,” said my friend Gilah Yelin Hirsch upon seeing these photos.

A group of secular friends has been gathering at my house to celebrate Chanukah since my children were young. Our babies are now adults; new partners and babies are joining us. We spend the afternoon prepping and tasting latkes, spinning dreidels and hanging out – and we try to make enough latkes so that we still have some to eat when we sit down to a collectively prepared dinner. It begins with singing, candle lighting and story-telling,

The Jewish festival of lights commemorates a miracle – oil for only 1 day of light burnt for 8 days when the Second Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BC.

2021