This menorah belonged to one of our members who lived in Queens, New York. Later she shared it with her children in Tarzana, California. And now it resides with her and her husband here in Cornwall.

Blessed are You, our Living God, Sovereign of the universe, who has kept us alive and supported us and brought us to this season.

For old hands, a reminder, and for new ones a guide to how it’s done. 

This year the first night of Chanukah is Sunday 18 December and the last night for lighting candles is Monday 25 December. Chanukah actually ends on the evening of Tuesday 26th. The Hebrew dates, which don’t change, of course, are 25 Kislev and 2 Tevet.

Candles should be lit after sunset, except for Friday, when they must be lit before sunset, and Saturday, when they must be lit after nightfall. On Friday, the Menorah is lit before the Shabbat candles. 

On the first night of Chanukah, we light the Shamash and use the Shamash to light a single candle on the far right of the menorah. After lighting the Shamash, but before lighting the candle, we make three blessings:

1)   Baruch Atah Adonai Elohainu Melech Ha’olam Asher Kid’shanu B’mitzvotav V’tzivanu L’hadlik Ner Shel Chanukah.

2)   Baruch Atah Adonai Elohainu Melech Ha’olam She’asah Nissim La’avotainu Bayamim Hahaim Bizman Hazeh.

3)   Baruch Atah Adonai Elohainu Melech Ha’olam Shehechiyanu Vekiy’manu Vehig’yanu Lizman Hazeh.

The third blessing is only recited the first night or the first time one lights candles this year.

On the second night, the Shamash is lit, the first two blessings are said, and then the Shamash is used to light the second candle from the right and finally the candle furthest to the right.  Each night a new candle is added to the left and this is lit first.

May you have a bright and joyous festival. Enjoy some warm, traditional food. You can clean the arteries afterwards.  

Chag Chanukah Sameach.

• – Shabbat service, led by Student Rabbi Eleanor Davies
  – Kiddush
• – Live music – Klezmer style
  – Talk on the theme of Renewal by Eleanor Davies, discussion and our own stories

This year marks the 27th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in which over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered in the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War because of their identity. The lessons from Srebrenica are that hatred and intolerance can flourish if left unchallenged which underlines the importance of why we must never forget about the tragic events that took place and remain resolute in our commitment to tackling hatred, intolerance, prejudice and discrimination in all forms.

The Srebrenica Memorial Day theme for 2022 is ‘Combatting Denial: Confronting Hatred’. Despite the unequivocal fact that genocide was committed, denial of the Srebrenica genocide as well as the crimes against humanity committed across Bosnia and Herzegovina between
1992 to 1995 remains prevalent. Denial brings not only more pain and suffering for the survivors who live in the UK and elsewhere but serves as a rallying call to continue the division and hatred as well as to glorify the murderers. In the UK, communities are only too aware of the
damaging impact that denial can have for individuals and community cohesion. Divisive propaganda and misinformation is thriving, and clear and established facts are denied and manipulated, frequently resulting in minority communities being scapegoated and vilified to create mistrust and promote hatred that threatens community cohesion.

This year’s twin-aimed theme, therefore, seeks to shine a light on the importance of combatting denial and the need to confront the hatred behind the denial.

Kehillat Kernow, therefore, joins others in remembering and honouring the memory of the victims and will continue to work towards building a more cohesive, stronger and safer society free from hatred, discrimination and prejudice.