Un Año en Buenos Aires: las ocho noches locas de janucá / the eight crazy nights of chanukah

Spending one year abroad means I get to celebrate a year full of Jewish holidays in another country. This past week I´ve gotten to celebrate Hanukkah/Chanukah/Janucá (or whatever variation you spell it) in Buenos Aires and learn about the similarities and differences in the the ways the holiday is celebrated. I even bought a menorah here to make sure I would have one to light the candles with each night! In comparison to the US, Hanukah is not nearly as widely celebrated. Many people (the more secular Jews) do not light candles each night, do not eat latkes, and hardly any give or receive gifts. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the many Chabad houses (spelled Jabad in español) throughout the city have giant menorahs and communal lightings each night. I love that whether in Charlottesville, Virginia or Buenos Aires, Argentina, you know you can go to Chabad and see a beautiful huge menorah! It has been fun lighting candles with people that are not accustomed to it and giving them "regalitos" (little gifts) of gelt. I´ve also celebrated with some real "pros" who made delicious homemade sufganiot and latkes. I love the diversity in the ways Judaism is practiced in the city and it is wonderful getting to explore this diversity through the Jewish holidays. Here´s a breakdown of my eight crazy nights of Chanukah celebrations in Buenos Aires:

UNO

Day 1 of Hanukkah I used my menorah for the first time while FaceTiming with my sister and mom, who were sitting in the Charlotte airport, to light the candles! Oh how I love technology!

DOS

The 2nd day of Hanukkah I went to my friends Sam and Steph´s Hanukkah party. They had made homemade latkes and sufganiot, jelly filled donuts (they also made sufganiot with dulce de leche, a caramel-type spread that is very popular in Argentina). Around the table there were Jews from London, the US, and Buenos Aires. We lit the candles and played dreidel; it was such a fun night! Day 2 also happened to be Thanksgivukkah...you can read more here about how I celebrate Thanksgivukkah in Buenos Aires.

TRES

Day 3 I lit the candles with Jessi and Hache, my supervisors at Hebraica. Jessi laid out a beautiful display of the Hebraica "Januka Sameaj" stickers that were being passed out to the kids the following day and we ate "caramelos", candies.

CUATRO

The 4th day we had planned a Hanukkah celebration for all of the six to ten year olds in Hebraica´s youth department (about 300 kids!). The six and seven year olds made all of the lovely decorations you can see pictured below and a few of the older kids relayed the story of Hanukkah to the rest of the group including the Macabees and the miracle of the oil. We had made a make-shift menorah out of torches and representatives from each of the groups said the blessing together and lit the candles. It was a fun afternoon!

CINCO

Day 5 I lit candles in my apartment and watched them melt as I ate dinner. I think this was the first time in my life I lit candles myself (glad I bought the menorah!). A few years ago I do not know if I would have made sure to light candles each night. When I was little, I lit candles because that is what my family did each night during Hanukkah. During college I was either home with my family or Hillel had scheduled times to light the candles each night. This is the first year I have had to make a choice and an effort to light the candles each night. I realized this year that for me, lighting candles signifies two things. It is a conscious choice I make to take part in my Judaism and also creates a space for communal gathering and sharing that I LOVE. I love getting together with family and friends to light candles and I also love teaching the tradition to my non-Jewish friends. But in those times that I am not surrounded by people for all eight nights, I will still be lighting the menorah.

SEIS

The 6th day of Hanukkah my teens from Hebraica in Buenos Aires lit the menorah with teens in BBYO´s Liberty Region (parts of Pennsylvania and Delaware). We also had a discussion about the different ways that we celebrate Hanukkah. The teens in the US were surprised to learn that Hanukkah is not widely celebrated here and were even more surprised that it is not common for children to receive gifts in Argentina for Hanukkah. The teens in Argentina wanted to know what types of gifts the teens in the US usually receive and if they actually light the candles with their families each night (the verdict was some yes and some no).

SIETE

Day 7 I lit candles with all of the directors in Hebraica´s youth department during our weekly directors meeting. We even ate "porteño sufganiot", sweet pastries filled with jelly and dulce de leche, and I gave them all "regalitos" (little gifts) of Hanukkah gelt!

OCHO
The 8th and final night (my favorite) I watched all of the lights glimmer as they melted. I loved celebrating Chanukah in Buenos Aires, who knows where I will be celebrating next year?!