People of all faiths and walks of life are welcome to the annual menorah lighting ceremony to celebrate the fourth night of Hanukkah on Sunday, Dec. 29, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Patio Del Norte at Tlaquepaque, located at 336 State Route 179.
The event has been taking place since 2018 and is hosted by Chabad of Sedona.
Hanukkah will start at sundown on Wednesday, Dec. 25, and end the evening of Thursday, Jan. 2, this year.
“The whole idea of Hanukkah is standing up for our right, of our heritage, of our Torah, and being a light, spreading that light, and being proud,” said Rabbi Mendel Kessler of Chabad of Sedona.
Kessler said that interfaith understanding begins not with complete comprehension of another person’s beliefs but with mutual respect.
“I think coming out and being proud as Jews garnishes respect from other faiths,” Kessler said. “Celebrating Hanukkah is to make that claim in the most public way, so that other religions also can have that sense they can pursue their religion as well with pride.”
During the event, children can meet Judah the Maccabee, take a photo, receive gelt and take part in an arts and crafts activity.
“One of the highlights from [recent] years was when we had four generations of women come up and hold a candle,” Kessler said. “It was from a woman that was over 100 all the way down to her great-granddaughter, who was 3 years old at the time, so four generations continuing the flame.”
Following the menorah lighting, attendees can snack on free hot latkes and doughnuts and sample a Hanukkah pop-up shop and a musical performance by Phoenix-based klezmer band the Chai Tones.
The band consists of Ron Kushner on drums, Michael Alexander on keyboard and vocals, David Manley on guitar and vocals and Aliza Boykan on violin.
“[We’re] a klezmer band that’s been in existence for over 20 years now, the personnel has changed, but, you know, we just have a deep love of playing Jewish music,” Kushner said. “I’m always pleased because of the turnout. There’s typically hundreds of people there, which makes it a lot of fun for us to perform for Sedona.”
Kushner described their all-Hanukkah song selection as “Jewish, Middle Eastern, kind of gypsy music,” with touches of rock ’n’ roll and contemporary arrangements.
“We try to give it a more modern beat, play kind of rock rhythms,” Kushner said. “It makes it kind of fun and contemporary, while still honoring the traditional Jewish music.”
The group started at Temple Chai in Phoenix over 20 years ago by performing during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which marks the start of a new annual Torah-reading cycle and occurs in late September or early November.
“Then we started playing all kinds of bar mitzvahs, jobs and private parties, and Rabbi Kessler invited us to Sedona, and we’ve been playing there over five years and it’s been a fun event for us to return to,” Kushner said.
The Hanukkah pop-up shop will be selling candles, menorahs and a variety of gifts and is also currently open by appointment at Chabad of Sedona.
For more information about Chabad of Sedona, call (928) 985-0667 or visit jewishsedona.com.
For more information about Tlaquepaque’s events, call (928) 282-4838 or visit tlaq.com.
