Chanukah in Jerusalem! --נס גדול היה פה

In the states, the weeks leading up to the end of the year are filled with wishes for happy holidays. The same idea exists in Israel: any day after Tuesday, I hear people wishing each other a shabbat shalom, just in case they don't see you again before shabbat. Right around Rosh Hashanah (in the Fall) there were signs up at the supermarket and special displays of apples and honey wishing everyone a sweet new year.

But Chanukah?

Sufganiyot--Jelly donuts!

If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't have seen it coming. As our semester was coming to a close, I felt blindsided by Chanukah. All of the sudden, we were planning our Chanukah party at Mevaseret Zion for the families we volunteer with (buying every Chanukah-themed craft supply possible, figuring out games to play, and my roommate even made something like 400 dreidel and menorah shaped cookies to decorate). How was it already Chanukah? With the weather in the 60s and not even a dream of snow in the forecast, it still felt like autumn to me.

Kids at our Chanukah party at Mevaseret Zion!

We had lots of different Chanukah related things to do with school, but in general, Chanukah is really not a big deal in Israel. You can see menorahs lit in the windows of many homes, and sufganiyot (donuts, usually of the filled variety) can be found at every bakery in colorful displays. Other than that, and the menorah decorations on the lamp posts, there is not much indication that it is "the holiday season." We had a latke competition one night--I made those awesome zucchini pancakes again, yum--and a Chanukah quiz bowl a different night.

Chanukah Quiz Bowl

On Christmas eve, a group of us decided to go to the Anglican church nearby for midnight mass. First, we had Chinese takeout (a must on "what's a Jew to do" day) and hot cocoa, and then we trekked out into the pouring rain to head to church. It was my first time to midnight mass and I absolutely loved it! I thought it was a wonderful service; there was lots of singing (I loved knowing the songs) and lots of congregational participation. All in all, it was very lovely, and it was one of the few times I saw a Christmas tree in Jerusalem this season!

Midnight Mass

Friends, family, and future rabbis/cantors at church!

All in all, Chanukah was a lot of fun, but kind of anti-climactic. One key difference: what's written on the dreidels. Outside of Israel, dreidels have letters that stand for נס גדול היה שם––"a great miracle happened there." However, in Israel, the letters are different--they stand for נס גדול היה פה––"a great miracle happened here." The best part of Chanukah, I have to say, was when my family arrived on the 6th night, but more on that in the next post!