PUBLIC MENORAH LIGHTING
Every year for the last thirty years, the JRCC hosted a Chanukah Public Menorah Lighting at Mel Lastman Square. This year, it was clear that things would be different. But rather than cancelling the even, the JRCC found a way to make the light shine even farther and brighter than ever. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, even though only a few people could physically attend, many more were able to participate virtually. Special thanks to Daejadream Event Design for ensuring a quality and seamless technical production and streaming the event live. In addition to the JRCC rabbis, staff and community leaders who attended, several local dignitaries offered their greetings, some in person and some by video, including John Tory, Mayor of Toronto, Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mayor of Vaughan, Peter Kent, MP Thornhill, Majid Jowhari, MP Richmond Hill, Marco Mendicino, MP Eglinton-Lawrence, Stan Cho, MPP Willowdale, Roman Baber, MPP York Centre, Gila Martow, MPP Thornhill, Daisy Wai, MPP Richmond Hill, James Pasternak, Toronto Councilor, Alan Shefman, Vaughan Councilor, and Shelly Carrol, Toronto Councilor.
VIRTUAL CHANUKAH WONDERLAND
Hundreds of families participates in a socially distanced Chanukah Wonderland program on Sunday, December 6. Usually, Chanukah Wonderland is a grand carnival that draws thousands of visitors. This year, a unique program was devised where the joy of Chanukah was brought to people’s homes in the form of a box filled with supplies for activities, Chanukah candles, treats and other Chanukah goodies. The virtual live-streamed program began with a Build Your Own Menorah master-class, followed by an entertainment show and a series of interactive workshops. Parents and children loved the interactive, hands-on aspect of the program, and the combination of the virtual format with the delivered materials. Entertainment was held by famous Rabbi B, kids loved him a lot. Second master-class was decorating donuts. Kids got in their boxes liquid chocolate, sprinkles, jam and other thing for decoration.
#ILIGHT2020
What is iLight? iLight gets people of all ages excited about Chanukah by offering great prizes. Participants simply upload photos of themselves lighting their Chanukah Menorah to the iLight website. Each photo uploaded serves as a raffle ticket in a raffle for amazing electronic including a drone, hoverboard, laptop computer, Apple Watch, Go Pro camera, AirPods and Grand Prize – iPhone 12 and more. The results speak for themselves – check out the photos at iLight2020.org. About 200 participants every night and about 1500 participants for all the 8 days.
DAUGHTER OF HAMAS
The JRCC and Yad L’Achim presented a virtual engagement to tell the story of Maya, the daughter of a senior Hama official who managed to escape a life of persecution and abuse. Over 140 participants joined the live Zoom event, and were riveted by the uplifting personal story of this brave young woman. Not only did Maya manage to be the heroine of her own life, she is also now active in helping save other women trapped in similar circumstances. Thank you to Yad L’Achim for the amazing work they do, and to Maya for the courage to share her story.
CHANUKA TOY DRIVE FOR CHAI LIFLINE
Students from the JRCC Hebrew School collected new toys for the Chai Lifeline Chanukah Toy Drive. The toys distributed by Chai Lifeline go to many children who are affected by serious illness. This important Tikun Olam project was meaningful to the students, who experienced first-hand the power of the values they studied in Hebrew School, such as kindness, tzedaka (charity) and performing mitzvahs. Many students where engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the project. Special thanks to SpinMaster for their support, and to all donors and Hebrew school parents and students who participated from the nine branches of the JRCC Hebrew School.
