NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Latke, Laughs at Hanukkah Seniors Party

It was a day of latkes, dreidels and belting out songs their great-grandchildren might know for about 75 senior citizens who spent Friday afternoon at a Hanukkah party in North Hollywood.

The party at the Valley Storefront, Jewish Family Services, fell on the third day of Hanukkah, which means feast of dedication and commemorates recapture of the Temple in Jerusalem in December, 165 BC, from the Syrian Greeks.

Rabbi Morris Rubinstein of Valley Beth Israel worked the crowd like a seasoned entertainer, calling on volunteers from the audience to light the menorah and lead the sing-along.

“I’ll even do a solo for you if you behave,” he promised the group before leading a rendition of “Maoz Tzur” (“Rock of Ages”) in both English and Hebrew.

The senior citizens laughed as Rubinstein launched into the dreidel song, about a spinning top used in a children’s game.

“I have a little dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it’s dry and ready, the dreidel I will play,” sang Marion Kaner, 79, who said she and other seniors had sat down to play dreidel earlier in the day.

More of the songs remembered the history behind Hanukkah.

When Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes enforced decrees against Judaism, an old priest, Mattathius, and his five sons, known as the Maccabees, led a revolt.

“The Syrians had defiled the temple in Jerusalem and the Maccabees (led by Judas Maccabaeus) secured the temple and rededicated it,” Rubinstein said.

The Jews found a container of consecrated oil in the temple, sufficient to keep the Eternal Light burning for only one day, however, by a miracle, the oil lasted eight days until a fresh supply was found.

“In the victory, the Maccabees fought for the right for every people to practice its religion,” Rubinstein said. “Had the Maccabees failed, the Jewish religion would have died and, with that, it’s very unlikely that Christianity and Islam would have developed.”