The days are getting shorter and Chanukah is soon approaching!

Please find here a guide for the season’s rituals, including how to light a Chanukiah, the blessings for candle-lighting, and Chanukah songs.

At New London, will be gathering virtually to celebrate Chanukah in multiple ways, as well as gathering in the synagogue for Shabbat. We hope to see you there!

During the week of Chanukah, morning services will start during the week at the earlier time of 8.00am and at 8.40am on Sunday 13 December.

Chanukah Highlights

Community Chanukiah Lighting
6pm, Thursday, Sunday to Thursday
We look forward to seeing you in our usual Zoom room here for nightly candle-lighting! We will be lighting at 6pm on Thursday night and from Sunday through Thursday. For Friday night, we will be lighting at 3.15pm, and on Saturday night, we will light in our Havdalah service at 5.30pm (in the same Zoom room). On the first and final nights, we will light the Chanukiah in the shul (via Zoom). We hope to see you there with your own candles!

A Salon Special: Chanukah and History
7pm, Wednesday 9 December
New discoveries are transforming what historians understand about the Maccabean revolt. Join Professor Paul Kosmin in conversation with Rabbi Jeremy in our zoom room here as they look at newly uncovered coins and artefacts and plot the connection between history and our upcoming celebration of Chanukah.

Paul Kosmin is the Philip J. King Professor of Ancient History at Harvard University, a son of New London and author of The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in the Seleucid Empire here

Chanukah Fire Party!
6pm, Wednesday 16 December
Aren’t we overdue for a party? Let’s gather, light the Chanukiah, and maybe play with some fire… Appropriate for all ages, but maybe don’t try to fire games at home! Join us here

Chanukah Cook-Along
7pm on Wednesday 16 December
Nigella Lawson’s Olive Oil Chocolate Cake
Ach, latkes, enough latkes already. But if you have enough olive oil – and of course there is enough olive oil! – this is great. We make it every year for Pesach (no flour!) and the olive oil makes it incredibly moist. And did I mention … chocolate. Come along and bake with me, after our party. Get the oven on early and the prep will take 20 mins (with 40 mins bake). For ingredients and equipment, click here

We will continue to the cook-along after our party, here in our usual Zoom room.

Chanukah Learning With Rabbi Natasha
6.15pm on Thursdays 10 & 17 December
In this usual Minor (Mighty) Prophets slot, we will turn our eyes to biblical (and extra-biblical) texts on our season. Join us on Thursday 10th to learn about the strange menorah of the Book of Zechariah, and on Thursday 17th to learn about the apocryphal Books of Maccabees.

Though we usually meet in Rabbi Natasha’s virtual office, we will hold these sessions after candle-lighting in our usual Zoom Room here