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We would like to wish Hanukkah Sameach, or a very happy Chanukah, to all University staff and students celebrating.

The fifth night for Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, will be marked on campus at Library Square on Monday 11 December at 4:30PM, with the annual lighting of a nine-foot Menorah/Hanukkiah.

Hanukkah (or Chanukah) honours the Jews' struggle for religious freedom in Jerusalem, during the reign of the Greek Hellenist empire 2,100 years ago. Today, people of all faiths consider it a symbol and message of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness.

The Hanukkah holiday, which this year is 7–15 December 2023, is observed by lighting candles, starting with one candle on the first night and then adding one more candle each night, for eight nights, on a candelabrum known as a menorah or hanukkiah.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Sasha Roseneil will be guest of honour at this year’s celebration at the University.

In keeping with the Hanukkah tradition of eating fried foods, such as doughnuts, 500 jam doughnuts have been ordered for distribution at the event.

“The Hanukkah message emphasises the power of light,” says the University’s Jewish Chaplain, Rabbi Zalman Lewis, who organises the annual event in Library Square. “The very nature of light is that it is always victorious over darkness. Even a very small amount of light dispels a lot of darkness. In an often dark and confusing world, and in these challenging times, we take comfort and empowerment knowing the positive value in our acts of goodness and kindness. Each good deed that we perform adds another ray of light and hope, making a ripple effect of change for a better world”.

Today, the unprecedented public display of Hanukkah has become a staple of Jewish cultural and religious life.

Twelve-foot displays at the Old Steine in Brighton and at Palmeira Square in Hove are similar to the nine-foot menorah on campus. Further afield, more than 15,000 other large public menorahs - including ones at landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, the Eiffel Tower and the Kremlin - in over 100 countries around the world help people of all walks of life to discover and enjoy the holiday message.

Rabbi Lewis serves as Jewish Chaplain and Faith Advisor at University of Sussex, as well as at the Universities of Brighton, Kent and Southampton. He is director of Chabad Lubavitch SE Coast Universities, based in Brighton, which offers Jewish educational, outreach and social service programming for university students in Brighton and along the south-east coastline. 

For more information, call Rabbi Lewis on 07779 008 268, email Z.Lewis@sussex.ac.uk or visit ChabadSussex.org.

View more information about Hanukkah.