Have your menorah, dreidels and latkes ready and join us for a community-wide Coastside candle-lighting event on Zoom.

Let us know if you need any candles or dreidels; we have plenty.

We’ll begin with some words of welcome, a Chanukah story told by Philip Chapnick, songs led by Lissin Lev Chayah, and a candle-lighting at 5:30pm.

Rabbi Moshe will be joining us live from Mac Dutra Plaza in downtown Half Moon Bay where he will be lighting a giant menorah as part of a stationary “Night of Lights” display.

The holiday of Chanukah celebrates religious freedom. It reminds us that we need to protect our freedom because there are always tyrants and corrupt leaders who are trying to increase and consolidate their power over us.

This Chanukah, when I light the candles, I’m not only going to think about the story of the Maccabees, a small group of warriors who defeated the powerful forces of Antiochus. I’m also going to think about our current political realities.

Civil rights are as easy to extinguish as small candles by those who are intent on snuffing them out. Therefore, we need to commit ourselves to defending them so that we can all live in a safe, inclusive and pluralistic society.