Tonight/Today (depending on what part of the world you’re in) is the 7th night/day of Chanukah. The next-to-last. The eighth night is always my favorite, watching all the candles lit up, but it’s also my least favorite because it means Chanukah is almost over and we have to wait another entire year to celebrate it again.
At this time last Chanukah, Rabbi Ben and I were in Pune, India. It’s hard to believe it was a whole year ago because to us it feels as if it was only yesterday. Now that we’re celebrating Chanukah in Australia, the contrast between this year and last year is dramatic.
Celebrating Chanukah in Pune felt more like a family affair because, largely, it was. All Chanukah events were hosted by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Kupchik at their Chabad House there. Although there is a large local synagogue in Pune (it’s made of red brick and actually looks like a cathedral), the local Jewish population traditionally never celebrated Chanukah (or Purim for that matter) because they settled in India before these events occurred. Therefore, there was no local Jewish Chanukah celebration, although a few Indian Jews did join us at the Chabad House to celebrate.
Every night of Chanukah, there was some sort of celebration at the Chabad house, although Rabbi Ben and I only arrived in time to celebrate the last few days there (the other days we celebrated in Jordan and in Bombay). Still, every night the Kupchiks arranged a little party of sorts, starting with lighting the giant menorah out in front of the Chabad House. It was a fun atmosphere because the crowd was small and very involved – even the Kupchiks’ two goats! You see, any dairy that the Kupchiks get has to be hand-milked (weekly) by one of them from a local cow. By getting their own goats, they will have to rely less on that source, and will be able to make goat cheeses and other dairy products from milking their very own goats. Anyway, even the goats joined in the Chanukah celebration and menorah candle-lighting!
The public candle-lighting was followed by lots of singing, of which I have some videos that perhaps I will post later or tomorrow. Rabbi Kupchik knew Rabbi Ben from a previous visit and encouraged him to lead some of the singing. On the seventh night, Rabbi Ben even lit the giant menorah!
After the singing, we all sat down together and had a nice meal. Every night it was something different, but it was usually Israeli-style. The Kupchiks make their own pita bread fresh daily. They also make Israeli salad and hummus from scratch. In fact, almost everything they make is from scratch because there is no way for them to just go to the shops and buy kosher pre-packaged food. Everything tastes better and fresher, and I’m sure it’s also much healthier! So every night we had a delicious festive meal to celebrate the holiday with the other Jews in Pune, some who were travelers like ourselves, some there on business, some expats living there for work, and even some Indian Jews as well. It was a great mix and a great way to celebrate the victory of Jewish observance over the forces of assimilation!
