Please join us in celebrating Chanukah on December 11, 2009, from 6-7:30PM at St. Michael’s in Lihue.Marty will lead a short Shabbat service, and then we’ll light the menorahs and enjoy potatoes latkes. Please bring your menorahs so we can light them all together and create a beautiful beacon of unity. We will have candles available.We ask that you bring a pot luck dessert to share, as well as a donation of $10/$5 for children. Although JCK has in past years covered the cost of the Chanukah party, we are not able to do so this year; your donation will help defray the cost.If you plan to attend, please RSVP no later than December 8 in email or by phone: Carol 651-8623 or Marty 652-7297.Chanukah is the Feast of Lights or the Feast of Dedication. The celebration comes from the story of the Maccabees in 165 BC. After a three-year struggle led by Judah Maccabee, the Jews in Judea defeated the Syrian tyrant Antiochus and held festivities in the newly rededicated Temple in Jerusalem. According to legend, when the Jews cleaned the temple of Syrian idols, they found only one small cruse of oil to light the holy lamp, but miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, enough time to get more holy oil. That is why we light candles for eight nights and remember the miracle that happened there. It is also a way for us to commemorate religious freedom and tolerance today.