A Chanukkah of Height and Light

After lighting our Community Menorah in Hawkins Park, TBE members and friends moved across the street into Kaleidescope Gallery to recite the blessings and light an adorable Chanukkiyah made of nine tiny high-heeled shoes.

In Chanukkah’s lighthearted spirit, Reb David jokingly taught that Chanukkah’s link to high heels stems from the dark days under tyranny, when our ancestors needed extra spiritual height. We memorialize this historical fact in the dreidel, whose four letters evoke our ancestors’ high heels: nun (נ) for na’alayim (נעלים / shoes), gimmel (ג) for gavoha (גבוה / high), hey (ה) for hayu (היו / were), and shin (ש) for sham (שם / there). Thus, when we spin the dreidel, we remember that “high heeled shoes were there,” and like the dreidel, folks unaccustomed to high heels wobble and fall.

But seriously folks, Reb David led celebrants in First Night blessings and songs, hot apple cider and cakes, and the dedication to shine the light of Hanukkah on behalf of freedom for all.

Among the many guests that night, N.Y. State Assemblyman Michael R. Benedetto attended and wished us a very happy pair of high heels holidays after he sampled the dreidel cake. Chag sameach.