SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Rancho Sahuarita was aglow on Sunday, December twenty ninth with the nice and cozy spirit of Hanukkah as households gathered to rejoice on the “Latkes and Lights” occasion.

Organized by PJ Library in partnership with the Jewish Neighborhood Heart, the occasion provided a significant alternative to attach with Jewish tradition and heritage.

Attendees loved basic Hanukkah treats like latkes served with applesauce and performed Jewish-themed video games, all whereas fostering a way of togetherness.

“These festivals of sunshine and festivals of religion and dedication, could they bring about all of us a brand new sense of power and hope for the long run and will it’s a cheerful and wholesome new yr for all,” stated Rabbi Norm Roman from the Beth Shalom Heart of Inexperienced Valley.

Attendees like Sahuarita resident Dr. Steve Maron stated Hanukkah has taken on a brand new that means as he’s grown older.

“I celebrated as a child the place it meant presents. Now it means a bit greater than that,” Maron stated. “It’s a celebration of non secular freedom and nationwide id.”

Mary Ellen Loebl, undertaking coordinator at PJ Library, stated that whereas Hanukkah is a comparatively minor vacation within the Jewish custom, “it’s a vacation full of sunshine and hope.”

PJ Library is a Massachusetts-based, worldwide nonprofit that gives free, Jewish-themed books to households elevating Jewish kids from start to age twelve. The thought was influenced by Dolly Parton’s Creativeness Library, which provides out high-quality, age-appropriate books to kids no matter revenue.

By the PJ Library program, each month for twelve years, kids obtain an age-appropriate ebook that connects them to Jewish values and traditions.

Loebl emphasised the significance of those efforts in constructing a stronger Jewish group. “We interact households, join them with one another, and hyperlink them to numerous establishments to create a help community and move down our shared tradition.”

Suzette Joffroy serves as a dad or mum connector at PJ Library, serving to attach Jewish mother and father and “construct a group the place it’s not simply going right into a scary constructing.” She says PJ Library helped her set up a connection together with her Jewish heritage after transferring again to Tucson from Los Angeles.

“I wanted to construct a Jewish group, which I used to be missing, for me and my daughter,” she stated. “I’ve at all times been occupied with my heritage and my lineage and I need to move that on to my daughter.”

Dr. Maron highlighted the broader significance of cultural occasions corresponding to Latkes and Lights.

“Any group that self-identifies desires to perpetuate their tradition,” Dr. Maron stated. “We intention to offer our youngsters the information of what our tradition stands for as a result of in any other case, it might be misplaced in a number of generations.”

The occasion fell on the fifth evening of Hannukah, a competition of lights symbolizing the rededication of the Jewish Holy Temple of Jerusalem by the Maccabees after its destruction by the Assyrians.

Rabbi Roman underscored Hanukkah’s deeper message of peace and mutual respect.

“In at this time’s world, we rededicate ourselves to values like spiritual freedom, human dignity, and respecting one another’s variations,” Rabbi Roman shared. “Although we could have differing opinions, we will stay collectively respectfully and courteously.”

Trying forward, PJ Library plans to carry a Grandparents’ Day occasion on February 2 on the Northwest YMCA in Tucson to rejoice Tu Bishvat, often called the “New Yr of the Bushes.”