Chabad of Silver Spring celebrates, reinforces Hanukkah’s messages

SILVER SPRING, MD — In a holiday celebration Monday, seven children spun like a dreidel as they sang along with children’s entertainer Susan McNelis.

“Oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. And when it’s dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play,” they all sang.

The event was one of several “Chanukah Wonderland” events sponsored by Chabad of Silver Spring as part of a nine-day Hanukkah celebration. The children and their mothers gathered around a corner filled with children’s toys and supplies in Marimekko, a clothing and fabric store in downtown Silver Spring.

Ranging from infants to third-graders, the children had fun making necklaces, singing, dancing and playing instruments along to Hanukkah songs and children’s classics. McNelis, known as “Oh Susannah!”, also played songs like “Winter Wonderland,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and the ”ABC Song“ to interest all age groups.

But parents said it was important to make sure their children understood the importance of Hanukkah and why it is a time to celebrate.

The story of Hanukkah dates back more than 2,000 years, when Jews were ruled by a Greco-Syrian king in Jerusalem and were told they would have to replace their own faith with worship of Greek gods.

The Jews fought back for the right to practice their religion freely and took back their temple, which the Greeks had filled with their idols. The Jews restored the temple, but found enough oil to light the menorah for only one day. Today, Jews all over the world celebrate the miracle that occurred when the oil actually lasted for eight days and nights.

Lynn Soloski, a Silver Spring mother who brought her daughter to the Monday afternoon sing-along event, said Hanukkah was about spending time with family, just as the biblical Jews were together during those eight days.

”It’s a story about sticking up for what you believe in,“ Soloski said. ”It’s about miracles and while the candles are burning, we play with our children.“

Soloski’s daughter, Samantha Noland, 8, said she enjoys all the events that Chabad of Silver Spring puts on, but is most looking forward to Saturday night’s event that invites children to skate around a large menorah at Wheaton Ice Arena.

Ester Vishnepolsky, who brought her 3-year-old daughter Basya and infant son to the event, said it was nice to have something catered to religious Jews, especially something that focused on children.

”With any holiday in Judaism, the most important thing is children,“ she said. ”If you light that spark, they will continue in Judaism.

The importance of a family event was something that inspired Rabbi Berel Wolvovsky and his wife, Chaya, to create the “Chanukah Wonderland” program for the families in Silver Spring. The event includes arts and crafts almost every day at the Chabad of Silver Spring on Lamberton Drive in Kemp Mill; a popcorn and pajama party for children; a Torah and coffee class for women; and the “Chanukah on Ice” event at the Wheaton Ice Arena.

Rabbi Wolvovsky said it’s important that Jewish children do not just go through the motions of lighting a menorah and getting presents, but learn the true meaning of the holiday and the history of their people.

“I got to see people … that for them Hanukkah could have just meant watching someone in their home lighting their menorah, but what this [series of events] did even more is explain that the reasons … behind Hanukkah have so much more importance when learned in an active way,” he said.

The event, while focusing on children and children’s events, is also part of the Chabad’s mission. The Wolvovskys started the chapter in Silver Spring three years ago to reach out to the community and create an atmosphere of oneness among area Jews.

Rabbi Wolvovsky said his family would be considered orthodox by most Jews, but that they do not label themselves that way. He said the label could often be distracting, rather than inviting.

“That’s what makes us unique is that we really don’t use these labels,” he said. “Every Jew is a Jew, because by putting these labels it causes division. I am very proud of my religious observance, but at the same time I want every person to realize that the goal is to grow.”

Chaya Wolvovsky said some of the children and parents coming to the Wonderland events are even learning about Hanukkah for the first time.

“This is important to give the children a pride in their heritage,” she said. ‘‘We hope to bring them light that will start them off doing good deeds and brightening up the world.”