Hanukkah 2013

The role of the hair salon in the movie Steel Magnolias is so important that it's almost a character in the film. I've never been part of a salon culture, altho I've had a taste of it from time to time. I happened to be in a salon last Wednesday, getting my hair cut for the upcoming bar mitzvah party. Last Wednesday also happened to be the first night of Hanukkah. So when the sun set someone set up a hanukkiah and all of us gathered (in whatever stage of hair treatment we happened to be) as one of the stylists said the blessings, lit the candle, and we all sang Maoz Tsur. It was something that could only occur in Israel. There we were, about a dozen people, held together by this moment. And throughout the week I noticed how many stores had hannukiot in their windows, and realized that what went on in the hair salon was repeated in many shops and businesses throughout the city and probably the country.

On Saturday night Sid and I took a random walk in search of the uniquely Jerusalem phenomenon, hanukkiot placed outside of homes in glass containers to protect the flames from the wind and rain. We wandered through Yemin Moshe, one of the most charming neighborhoods in Jerusalem, thinking this would be a good place to look. We didn't find many, but the walk did bring us close to Mamilla Mall, which I knew was hosting nightly Hanukkah events. We got there just in time to see the very large oil-burning outdoor hanukkia being lit. The honor of lighting that evening was given to the Lone Soldiers. This is obviously very close to our hearts because that's what our oldest granddaughter is - someone who comes to Israel on their own to serve in the military. There is a support organization so these young people are never alone; they have host families, networks and activities so they can feel at home and part of a community even if they have no family here. The mall was jam-packed with people of all stripes - from the city's most religious sects to Christian tourists from Africa, Europe and the Philippines. We watched in amazement from a good vantage point, as the photos below show. There was a band that played nonstop for over an hour, young girls circulated through the crowd with trays of sufganiot, and spontaneous dancing broke out. It was the dancing that was the most amazing - of course it was men only, but the mix of men was amazing - hassidim wearing their streimels arm-in-arm with soldiers with uncovered heads. These are two groups that simply don't mix, and that's putting it mildly. It was utterly astounding.

The words that kept running thru my head were lehiot am hofshi b'artzenu - to be a free people in our own land. These words are from Israel's national anthem, the title of which is The Hope. Watching the crowd on the Mamilla Mall that night, the words resonated in a way they never had before. Indeed, for the first time in two millenia we are a free people in our own land. This is how we celebrate.