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CROWN HEIGHTS [NY1] — Jews around the city began celebrating Hanukkah, the festival of lights, at sundown Friday.

The holiday marks the Jews' rebellion against the Hellenistic Greek leader Antiochus, who outlawed Jewish religious customs in the second century B.C. When the Jews rededicated the temple in Jerusalem, the wicks of the menorah burned for eight days, seven longer than expected for the amount of oil they had.

Video – New York’s Jewish Community Celebrates Chanukah

CROWN HEIGHTS [NY1] — Jews around the city began celebrating Hanukkah, the festival of lights, at sundown Friday.

The holiday marks the Jews’ rebellion against the Hellenistic Greek leader Antiochus, who outlawed Jewish religious customs in the second century B.C. When the Jews rededicated the temple in Jerusalem, the wicks of the menorah burned for eight days, seven longer than expected for the amount of oil they had.

“They found a small little flask, and they said, ‘let’s light that flask,’ and it miraculously lasted eight days,” explained Rabbi Chaim Herskowitz of the Jewish Children’s Museum.

Jews celebrate by lighting the menorah for eight nights, exchanging gifts and eating oily foods such as potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is Jewish, kicked off Hanukkah in Midtown Manhattan a few hours early by getting into a cherry picker to light what is billed as the world’s biggest menorah near Central Park.
In honor of the holiday, the Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn held a workshop Friday on how to squeeze olive oil from olives, which was then used to light menorahs.

”We put them in the press, we squeeze the olives, put them in the centrifuge, pull out that little bit of oil and light it,“ Rabbi Herskowitz said. ”And that experience of the kids witnessing what it meant to travel eight days to go get oil, squeeze it, press it, bring it back, brings the story of Hanukkah to life rather than just something they learn about in class.“

In addition to making oil, the kids also spin wicks made out of cotton and fill a giant dreidel, a top used for a Hanukkah game, with Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Participants said the workshop was a great learning tool.

”I learned how the miracle happened and more about it like that and it was very interesting,” said one youngster.

The children also expressed their excitement over the start of the holiday.

“I love biting into those jelly donuts and lighting the menorah,” said another child.

”The dreidel game and lighting the menorah,” said a third of her favorite Hanukkah activities.

When another child was asked what he looked forward to, he answered, “My grandparents came in, and we are having a Hanukkah party Saturday night. And we are going to spend time together and going to have dreidel games.”

For more information on the Jewish Children’s Museum’s events, go to JCM.museum.

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