Hanukkah events to feature mentalists

Rabbi Pinchus Ciment, director of Lubavitch of Arkansas, lights the largest menorah in Arkansas, located at the intersection of Bowman Road and Chenal Parkway in Little Rock, during Hanukkah last year.
Rabbi Pinchus Ciment, director of Lubavitch of Arkansas, lights the largest menorah in Arkansas, located at the intersection of Bowman Road and Chenal Parkway in Little Rock, during Hanukkah last year.

Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday known as the Festival of Lights, begins at sundown Tuesday and this year's celebrations in Arkansas include public menorah lightings, latke potlucks and a number of other events.

Two congregations are celebrating the holiday with an extra bit of fun by hosting mind-reading entertainers.

Chabad of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers will have a Hanukkah celebration and "Miracles and Mindreading," featuring mind reader Marc Sky at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Holiday Inn and Suites, 1803 S. 52nd St., Rogers. Cost is $18.

Sky's website says his mind-reading shows feature mind reading, predicting future events and audience participation.

Lubavitch of Arkansas Center for Jewish Life will also celebrate Hanukkah with a mentalist. Marc Salem will be featured at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the center, 11905 Fairview Road, Little Rock. The event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Arkansas. Salem's show is touted as "a captivating excursion into the possibilities of the human mind that is hilarious, astounding and completely mystifying."

It may seem a stretch to connect mind reading and Hanukkah, but Rabbi Pinchus Ciment, of the Lubavitch center, said there is a connection between the two.

"Hanukkah is the one holiday in the Jewish calendar where it's celebrated in a way that's publicized to the outside," he said. "Its message resonates with everyone and as such, the mentalist is bringing out the concept of exposing the stuff that goes on in a person's life, that it's important to engage people and understand where they are coming from. It's so important and you have to pay attention ... and respect them as fellow human beings. They are important in God's eyes so they should be important to my eyes as well."

Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday that recalls the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. It happened in 165 B.C. when a small group of Jews, the Maccabees, defeated the much larger Syrian Greek army and reclaimed the Temple.

Rabbi Mendel Greisman of Chabad of Northwest Arkansas said that at the time of the events of Hanukkah, King Antiochus forbade Jews from worshipping as they wished.

"He didn't like the Jewish lifestyle or the Jewish religion because it's very much about a God we are not supposed to understand, a God who is spiritual," Greisman said. "It was completely opposite of the Greek philosophy of the time that emphasized human accomplishments."

Greisman said many Jews were intimidated into abandoning their faith to fit in. A handful refused to give in and decided to fight for their freedom.

"Their fight was irrational. What can a handful of soldiers do against the Greek army?" Greisman said.

They were victorious, but Greisman said the biggest miracle was the miracle of the oil. After recapturing and rededicating the Temple, the Jews found only enough oil to keep the menorah lighted for one night. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days.

"The focus on Hanukkah is on that miracle because the oil and flame symbolize our inner fire," he said. "Our flame cannot be extinguished. This ties to mind reading in a backward way because the illusion of mind reading is to take what's inside and bring it into the open. That's what we have to do. We live in a culture that intimidates us into thinking we can't have values that don't make sense in today's culture ... to forget about our faith, but we have to be proud of our religious freedom to celebrate it."

Ciment said the message of Hanukkah -- of light over darkness -- is one for all, and it's a message they share with the public by lighting the state's largest outdoor menorah each night of the holiday. The first lighting will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of Chenal Parkway and Bowman Road. It's the 22nd year the center has had public menorah lightings and 40 years since the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, lit the first public menorah near the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia in 1974.

"Unlike the Temple menorah, which was lit in the morning, we light the menorah's lights as the darkness descends upon us, symbolizing the importance for all humanity to take the time to create positive acts of goodness and kindness to help brighten the darkness and confusion throughout the world," Ciment said. "A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness and like a candle's flame, when we ignite another we do not lose any of our light."

After the menorah lighting, the Hanukkah celebration will continue at the center with traditional holiday foods, including latkes (fried potato pancakes) and doughnuts. The evening will also include the show by Salem. Reservations for the show are available by calling (501) 217-0053 or by email at [email protected].

The menorah will also be lighted at 5:30 p.m. each day except Friday, when it will be lighted at 3 p.m., and Saturday, when it will be lighted at 6:15 p.m.

Greisman said he's often asked why Hanukkah has become such a celebrated holiday. He says it's not because Jews wanted a holiday of their own to celebrate around Christmas. It's celebrated because it's the quintessence of Judaism, he said.

"You have a flame and don't hide it. Celebrate it and let it grow," he said. "Add another candle and one more the day after. The main thing is to be proud of who we are. It's all about spreading light."

Greisman said Jews in Northwest Arkansas in need of a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah can contact him at [email protected]. Information about the "Miracles and Mindreading" event is also available by contacting him or by calling (479) 464-7999.

The organization will also celebrate Hanukkah with a public menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in front of the Arkansas Union at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Lightings will also take place the remaining nights of the holiday.

Information on Hanukkah events around the state, including those in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Rogers, is available in the calendar featured on the Jewish Federation of Arkansas website at jewisharkansas.org and also on the organization's Facebook page.

Religion on 12/13/2014

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