Dear friends, Regardless of how you choose to spell it, Chanukah is an inspiring holiday. Inspiring as we commemorate miracles that happened long ago and inspiring because of all the incredible celebrations taking place across the city.

On Sunday afternoon, JET and Rabbi Michael Altonaga helped kick things off with a wonderful Zoom program to announce the winners of their menorah-building contest (spoiler alert: it was supported through a Jewish Federation of Ottawa Microgrant). It was a privilege to join community members Ellie Greenberg, Issie Scarowsky and Michael Goldstein as a judge for the contest. We were extremely impressed with the hard work, creativity and passion that community members, young and old, put into their menorahs. All manner of supplies were used – from fruit to recycled materials; and from crafts to favourite toys as evidenced by this Pokémon menorah made by six-year-old Bryn.

Sunday night was a proud moment as a giant menorah was lit by Harley Finkelstein and his family at City Hall in a terrific event organized by the Chabad Student Network and Rabbi Chaim and Yocheved Boyarsky. It was an honour to participate along with Mayor Jim Watson and so many community members. The lighting of the giant menorah felt particularly symbolic, as it was around the corner from where hateful, antisemitic graffiti recently appeared, helping to spread light into what was darkness. And this is not to mention all the incredible celebrations at congregations across the city, and menorah lightings held by the Israeli Embassy in Canada and Members of Parliament and the Senate, across the political aisle. On Sunday, there are more celebrations still to come with the Jewish Youth Library and Chabad of Kanata, among others.

On Monday, Federation and community leaders were pleased to host Ottawa Police Services Chief Peter Sloly along with Acting Supt. Dave Zackrias and Acting Sgt. Ali Toghrol, head of the Hate & Bias Crime Unit. We engaged in a lengthy and productive discussion on security and policing in Ottawa. The work undertaken by Ottawa’s Hate and Bias Crime Unit is a bright example for the rest of the country. The meeting was followed by a candle-lighting at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre where Ganon Director Reesa Shinder and her team led Chanukah ruach (spirit), alongside an adorable group of children from the Ganon preschool as SJCC President and COO Barry Sohn lit the candles.

I want to provide an update on the situation at the University of Ottawa following the Student Unions’ vilification of Israel. In response, President Jacques Frémont said “Let me be clear. The University of Ottawa will have no part of the BDS movement nor any movement that boycotts academic institutions.” We are grateful to President Frémont for his principled stance and efforts to create a safer environment for Jewish students on campus. You can read his full statement here.  My final update is on Federation’s Annual Campaign, under the incredible leadership of Campaign Co-Chairs Josh Engel and Karen Palayew. We are so grateful to the 1,300 donors who have already made a gift to this year’s campaign. Thanks to you, just under $4M has already been raised. A simple lesson of Chanukah is that we can all be the Shamas, the helper candle that spreads light to others. If you are in a position to make a gift and have not yet done so, there is still time to receive a 2021 tax receipt.. (Donate here.) Every gift counts, every person giving adds more help to those who need it most.

Let me conclude with a final thought. On my personal Facebook page, l recently posted a Happy Chanukah message and asked a seemingly innocuous question: sour cream or applesauce on latkes? I was unprepared for the passion this question evoked and the wide range of condiments and toppings vociferously advocated for and against (spoiler alert: I think Ketchup is heresy). What would Judaism and our community be without a diversity of opinions? Perhaps we can all agree that the mouth-watering latke recipe from Cindy Feingold in the E-Bulletin sounds delicious (find it here) and is worth a try! Chag Chanukah Sameach and Shabbat Shalom, Andrea Freedman