First night of Hanukkah marked with socially distanced celebrations

Rabbi Yosef Moscowitz leads a Hanukkah celebration at the Lubavitch Chabad Illinois Regional Headquarters in West Rogers Park on Thursday. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s visage beamed through a television screen Thursday as he “lit” the first candle on his electric menorah during a socially distanced celebration marking the beginning of Hanukkah.

“We couldn’t afford candles at the state. … It’s one of the painful cuts that we’ve had to make,” deadpanned Pritzker, offering some levity in the face of the state’s fiscal crisis as he joined members of the Illinois Jewish Legislative Caucus for the unconventional commemoration of the yearly Festival of Lights.

While the cast of lawmakers was neatly arrayed in virtual squares alongside the governor, Rabbi Meir Moscowitz led the proceedings from the Lubavitch Chabad Illinois Regional Headquarters in West Rogers Park.

As Moscowitz boiled down Hanukkah’s message of hope, he emphasized its relevance in a year marked by a global pandemic that will keep many families apart over the holidays.

“No matter how dark the situation may be, all you need is a little candle to shine and illuminate,” Moscowitz said. “This year, we have an added emphasis because many of us might be alone. We might be isolated at our own home, not able to celebrate in the public and in the masses. But Hanukkah’s a reminder that lighting the menorah is in our own home.”

The history of Hanukkah traces back over 2,000 years to the Maccabean Revolt, when Jews rose up to defend the Second Temple in Jerusalem from their Greek oppressors. Amid the revolt, legend has it, one night’s worth of oil was miraculously used to light the temple’s lamp for eight nights.

In a prerecorded message, Mayor Lori Lightfoot noted Hanukkah “is part of a larger story of rededication to something sacred and powerful following a period of terrible strife.”

“So as we move from this remarkable year and into the next, let’s draw inspiration from this holiday by remembering how light can still shine even in our darkest moments,” Lightfoot said.

Rabbi Meir Moscowitz’s brother, Rabbi Yosef Moscowitz, lit the menorah at the Chabad center and later held a separate celebration in Wicker Park.

For that event, an artist was commissioned to spraypaint a book of matches on a piece of plywood affixed to a building near the Division Blue Line stop. After the artist and property owner used a spray can to “illuminate” the unconventional menorah, revelers danced on the sidewalk as Jewish delicacies were handed out to neighbors and passersby.

“Let’s get into the Hanukkah spirit!” Yosef Moscowitz rejoiced.

A group of Jewish students dance and celebrate on the sidewalks near the Division Blue Line station during an unconventional menorah lighting ceremony to celebrate the first day of Chanukah in an alley in Wicker Park, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020.