Annual Running of the Torch marks beginning of Hanukkah
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
KINGSTON — The annual lighting of the first candle on ther menorah took place at the Friedman Jewish Community Center building on Sunday night.
Nine runners ran with several torches over the Market Street Bridge and down Third Avenue bringing the light necessary to begin the Jewish holiday known as the Festival of Lights.
The JCC has sponsored the Mayrutz Halapid Ceremony, the Running of the Torch, since 1966. When the event was announced in the Wilkes-Barre Record on Dec. 6 of that year, center leadership said they believed that it was perhaps the first time the event was held in the United States.
Joe Kraus, a runner and member of the JCC, said it is a tradition that has been sustained over the decades by a relatively small Jewish community in the Wyoming Valley.
Kraus said the number of runners varies from year to year. He remembers some years as few as two or three.
He was pleased with this year’s turnout, which included both serious runners and those who were running simply as part of the holiday tradition.
David Bass, a regular runner, was running with the torch for the first time this year.
“I made my mom proud,” he said. “She reminded me that it is an honor.”
Upon arriving at the Jewish Community Center, he noted that the runners had run 1.38 miles in about 15 minutes.
Rabbi Zvi Perlman was quick to tell the story of the historic holiday celebrating the successful revolution of the ancient Jews against oppressive rulers who had threatened to wipe out Jewish religious practice.
But Perlman pointed out that the celebration was not only victory in combat, but also a spiritual victory.
The “eight-day” celebration, he said, comes from a small jar of oil that kept the Menorah lit for eight days, when it should have lasted only one.
Perlman said that all of the oil available had been corrupted, except for one small jar. The Jews did the only thing that they knew to do — used the one small jar and left the rest in God’s hands.
Adam Ruderman, who participated as a runner, likened it to having a 15% charge on your cell phone and having it last for a week.
“It would be a true miracle,” he said.
Perlman said that in a world filled with darkness, the Jewish holiday brings light, much like Christmas brings light in the Christian tradition.
Perlman emphasized how important it is for different religions to respect each other and “connect peacefully.”
“We might not be on the same page, but can all appreciate each other,” he said.
Following the lighting of the Menorah, about 140 people gathered in the JCC community room for a traditional dinner.
Brian and Kayla Willner brought their children William, 9; Elizabeth, 6 and Hannah, 2, out to the event on the first day of the eight-day celebration.
In addition to traditional chocolate coins, the children will also be getting small toys each day throughout the celebration, the couple said.