Let There Be Light: Resources for Hanukkah
In the dead of winter, when nightfall descends on earth earlier and earlier in the day, people all over the world celebrate a variety of festivals of lights to ward off the gloominess of darkness and bring in the hope of light: Christmas, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, Santa Lucia Day, Zoroastrian Solstice Celebration and, of course, our very own – Hanukkah!
We bring you a collection of resources that illuminates the motif of light in its many forms. We wish you Hag Urim Sa’meach – Happy Festival of Lights. We hope it will usher in a new hope for peace in Israel and elsewhere. Happy Hannukah!
Lighting the Way to Freedom: Treasured Hanukkah Menorahs of Early Israel
Aaron Ha-Tell and Yaniv Ben Or bring us a collection of thousands of Israeli menorahs from every decade of the 20th century, each with a different motif, symbol and message, adding a different layer to the complete story of Israel. These menorahs and their descriptions are all in a single book that shares the title above. Below, please see 4 photos, and for more, please see the iCenter's Treasured Hanukkah of Early Israel: A Resource Guide.
Festival of Light – Jerusalem
The annual "Jerusalem Festival of Light" emphasizes the role and perception of light in an urban setting. Artists from Israel and abroad come together to use light in order to create statues, installations, performances and other forms of art. Past festivals have drawn 250,000 visitors to the Old City and has become a major highlight for many.
Learn more about the festival here!
Lights: An Exhibition at the Israel Museum
In Conjunction with the Adi Foundation Project on “Light and Matter”
Throughout history, light acts as an element in the physical sense, and also in the symbolic one: representing the good, the divine, the sublime, truth, reason, and life itself.
Yochai Matos, Landscape, 2011
Light Installations
Artist Yochai Matos
Israeli artist Yochai Matos uses light as his paintbrush. His installations span hundreds of fluorescent bulbs from simple white to an array of colors, communicating striking emotions, simple slogans or symbolic suggestions.
Click here to learn more!
"Happy Hanukkah" by Matisyahu
The Jewish reggae artist, Matisyahu, just released a new Hanukkah song, where all proceeds through the end of Hanukkah will be donated to Hurricane Sandy relief.
"Happy Hanukkah, I want to give a gift to you. Light up the night, my love shine through...."
Compiled and written by Vavi Toran, Arts & Culture Consultant for the iCenter and Jewish LearningWorks. A special thanks to Aaron Ha-Tell for sharing his menorah collection and book, "Lighting the Way to Freedom."
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