Friday evening, as Jews worldwide gather around their menorahs to bask in the warmth and glow of the fourth Hanukkah candle, hundreds will gather at Denver’s Temple Emanuel for the synagogue’s annual Hanukkah Hoopla.
The public event includes a Hanukkah menorah lighting and Sabbath service, reservation-only dinner and Hanukkah concert featuring the Steve Brodsky and Friends Band. The service and concert are free; there is a $7-$18 charge for the dinner.
“Hanukkah Hoopla embodies everything that we are excited about as a congregation,” says Senior Rabbi Joe Black. “We have a wonderful service where members of our congregation can come and light the Hanukkah Menorah. We have a delicious meal filled with more latkes than you can imagine, and we have a wonderful concert where people of all ages can come and dance and sing and just celebrate.”
The centerpiece of this community celebration is the concert by Steve Brodsky and Friends, a group of five musicians who gather each Hanukkah for a series of shows featuring both crowd-pleasing classics, as well as contemporary Hanukkah music.
“Hanukkah is about much more than getting presents and eating latkes and (jelly doughnuts). It’s about religious freedom; remembering that there were people who came before us who had to fight for the right to live freely as Jews,” says bandleader Steve Brodsky. “We live in a place now where we can get together, have Hanukkah parties and no one bothers us… But the people who were involved in the original Hanukkah story weren’t and that’s really important for us to remember.”
Some playlist favorites include renditions made popular by the rock band Bare Naked Ladies, and songs by Temple Emanuel’s Rabbi Black, himself a celebrated musician.
“For years we’ve done his songs as part of our Hanukkah set,” Brodsky says of Rabbi Black, who is in his second year at Temple Emanuel. “He’s a fabulous musician, so it’s been great to have him join us and take the lead on his own songs.”
Brodsky works for a production company that publishes and distributes Jewish music. He also is a member of several Jewish bands and views himself as both a musician and an educator.
“People are not just coming to hear music, they are also coming to learn about the holiday,” he says. With that in mind, he shares stories related to the holiday and how Jews came to observe Hanukkah as they do today.
“Everything about Jewish life is based around community. We celebrate together, we mourn our losses together,” he says. “Especially for a joyous holiday like Hanukkah, it’s so much more fun to be a part of a community rather than everyone doing their own little thing at home.”
For Brodsky, one of the great joys in performing is in watching the crowd.
“I love seeing kids and adults really getting into the music and having fun being Jewish, learning something and celebrating a holiday,” he says. “For teenagers especially, there are a lot of places they could go, a lot of things they could do on a Friday night in December (but) they come to temple to see a concert. They are dancing and singing and clapping and having a great time, it’s just really awesome.”
Among the other, local, public Hanukkah celebrations:
The 26th annual CHAIlands Ranch/South Metro Jewish Community Hannukah Happening
The Happening will be held on Sunday, noon to 3:00 p.m. at the Northridge Recreation Center, 8801 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch. This year’s activities include music, henna body art, chair massages, crafted edible dreidels, face painting, balloon clown and lots of treats. This free celebration includes a potluck lunch and participants are asked to bring a main dish serving 10 to 12 and a serving utensil. Beverages are provided along with donated food from Einstein’s, Garbanzo, and East Side Kosher Deli. The event is free, but reservations are required. For information, call 303-549-1889.
Boulder Community Menorah Lighting
This festive, public Menorah lighting on the Pearl Street Mall features entertainment by Boulder musician Steve Brodsky. The celebration will be completed with fresh doughnuts, hot drinks and Hanukkah games. It all takes place on Wednesday, 5:30 p.m. on the Courthouse lawn on the 1300 block of Pearl St. For more information, call 303-998-1900.
Community Israeli-Style Hanukah Event
The Denver JCC offers an Israeli-style celebration complete with a Hanukkah candle lighting service, songs, crafts for kids and, of course, yummy sufganiyot. The gathering takes place on Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m. in the Denver JCC’s main lobby, 350 S. Dahlia St. Everyone is invited and the event is free of charge. Call 303-399-2660 for more information.
Hanukkah Hoopla
Attendees are asked to bring their own menorahs on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. community lighting and service followed by dinner and a concert with Steve Brodsky and Friends. Dinner prices are $7-$13 for temple members and $9-$18 for non-members. Wednesday is the deadline for dinner reservations.
Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape St.; 303-388-4013 or
Louisville Hanukkah on Ice
Hanukkah on Ice festivals are held at more than 11,000 worldwide locations and this is the first in Boulder County. It happens on Monday, Dec. 26, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., at WinterSkate, 824 Front St. in downtown Louisville. Skate to Hanukkah music and enjoy delicious sufganiyot. Adults: $3, Kids, ages 4 -12, $2, Age 3 and under are free. Skate rental: $3. For details, call 303-998-1900.
No matter how you spell it — Hannukah, a.k.a. Hanukkah, Channukah and Chanukah — means magic.
Also called the Festival of Lights, the holiday is an eight-day commemoration of the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt, second century B.C. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, beginning on the 25th day of Kislev according to the lunar Hebrew calendar.
This year’s celebration begins after sunset on Tuesday. The most recognizable symbol of the festival is the nine-branched Menorah, with an additional candle kindled each night until the Menorah glows in its entire splendor on the last evening. Other symbols include the dreidel, a four-sided top with Hebrew letters which is spun in a popular game, latkes, potato pancakes that defy explanation, and sufganiyot, delicious jelly-filled doughnuts.
“Hanukkah is about having fun with family and friends,” says Michael Rosenzweig, Community Concierge at the Boulder JCC. “So many of us have our roots elsewhere, (so) Hanukkah is about coming together as a community, reflecting about what is important in our lives, and letting loose and enjoying ourselves.”
Events list compiled by Karen Mitchell, Special to The Denver Post
