A sociable group of congregants and guests gathered shortly after sunset outside Congregation Adath Israel on Huntingtown Road, December 22, for an intimate menorah lighting ceremony, ushering in the Jewish Festival of Lights — Hanukkah.

About two dozen attendees filled the synagogue’s entranceway for a brief program that included prayer, welcoming remarks from Rabbi Baruckh Schectman and co-organizer Jessica Gerrish, and a selection of songs led by Meyer Glaser joined by young members of the Nezvesky Religious School.

It was Mr Glaser who was also entrusted with the honor of illuminating the first candle memorializing Hebrew symbolism and affirming faith that has sustained well over 2,000 years.

As the outdoor segment of the hour-long celebration closed, everyone was ushered into the synagogue’s warmer confines to enjoy mulled cider, traditional potato latkes, and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts).

“Before we begin, I would just like to point out the fact that Hanukkah is a holiday that really belongs to everyone,” Rabbi Schectman said. “It highlights the fact that the freedoms we enjoy are given to us by God, and no one has the right to take them away from us.

Rabbi said that “when we celebrate Hanukkah, we remember that if we join together to protect our rights and freedoms, nobody can take them away because God is behind them.”

Rabbi Schectman reminded the celebrants gathered at the Botsford house of worship that at the end of “Rock of Ages,” one of the traditional Hanukkah songs that would be sung Sunday evening, the words reflect:

Yours the message cheering

That the time is nearing

Which will see all men free

Tyrants disappearing.

“That is the message of Hanukkah,” he concluded.

At that point, Mr Glaser took over hosting the program, first holding a battery-lit shammes, and then illuminating the first of eight candles — one to be lit each evening of the eight-day celebration. He then led the group through the two traditional blessings celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

The first, “Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukkah,” translates to “Praised are you, our God, ruler of the universe, who made us holy through your commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights.”

The second, “Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, she-asah nisim la’avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh,” translates to “Praised are you, our God, ruler of the universe, who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors in those ancient days at this season.”

That was followed by “Ma’oz tzur” and several other songs either sung in Hebrew or a combination of Hebrew and English. The singing program ended with “I Have A Little Dreidel,” and appropriately “O Hanukkah”:

O Hanukkah, O Hanukkah,

Come light the menorah.

Let’s have a party; we’ll all dance the hora.

Gather round the table, we’ll give you a treat,

Dreidels to play with and latkes to eat.

And while we are playing,

The candles are burning low.

One for each night; they shed a sweet light

To remind us of days long ago!

According to an entry by Catherine Boeckmann at almanac.com, Hanukkah begins each year on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. Because the Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle, the dates of Jewish holidays according to the Gregorian calendar change from year to year.

For this reason, the beginning of Hanukkah can range from early November to late December.

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a group of Jewish warriors defeated the occupying Greek armies. The festival celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and of spirituality over materiality.

Myjewishlearning.com further states that Hanukkah, which is Hebrew for “dedication,” commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of rededicating the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and restoring its menorah, or lamp.

The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil to illuminate the Temple lamp for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days.