Thomas MacMIllan Photo
For the first time since 1888, the first day of Chanukah lands on Thanksgiving. For the first time ever, Chabad of Westville celebrated the Jewish holiday by making a menorah out of packages of food — provisions that will go to feed the hungry.
The menorah was built in the Mitchell Branch of the New Haven public library on Wednesday, in time for the first night of Chanukah. It was made out of dozens of cans of beans, corn, and cranberry sauce, along with tubes of oats.
Rabbi Yossi Hodakov said Chabad of Westville has been collecting canned goods over the last couple of weeks at the library, at Lyric Hall, and at the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance. The food — over 170 cans so far — will be donated to local food pantries.
Chabad organized the food drive to mark the confluence of Chanukah and Thanksgiving, a rare occasion.
“Chanukah is a time to give thanks to God for the miracles he did for us,” Hodakov said. You can show your thanks by giving to others, he said.
People gathered at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the library, where crafts activities were set up for kids, and frosted donuts were laid out to eat. Traditionally, people eat jelly donuts on Chanukah, ideally soggy with oil, Hodakov said. “These are a little less soggy, but they do the job.”
At 5 p.m. everyone gathered by the can menorah, where Hodakov spoke about how a single candle can light up a room. Similarly, a single can of food can alleviate someone’s hunger, he said. And if everyone brings a can, many people can be fed.
He led children in song …
… and then lit the first candle on the menorah.
Hodakov then gave out plastic dreidels with chocolate coins inside.
The menorah will stay up in the library throughout Chanukah. Chabad is still collecting canned goods and will donate them to food pantries when the holiday is over.
This is a wonderful, creative idea! Way to go Rabbi Hodakov. This is the kind of community effort that can help address the growing problem of hunger in our city. Also, great work done by organizers of the food drive at Believe in Me Empowerment!
We will need to keep these kinds of efforts up well beyond Thanksgiving, as the heartless, morally bankrupt people in Congress (our delegation not included) try to gut SNAP and other programs that help families across New Haven make ends meet. Let's not forget that Congress can do a lot more to address hunger in our community and across the country, and a lot less to pad the pockets of the wealthy agribusiness farmers who fund their campaigns. We need to hold Congress accountable NOW.