Chanukah 5781

Chanukah 5781 begins the evening of Thursday, December 10, 2020.

Keep an eye on this space for eight ways (or MORE!) to celebrate the Festival of Lights with our community, ensuring that your (socially distant) Chanukah will be full of light, laughter, and latkes!

During this season, when our tradition calls on us to share the light of the Chanukah candles with the community around us, please consider taking one night during the holiday and supporting your CBI community. Visit here to find out more about how to support CBI during Chanukah.

Click the links below to jump to more information and Chanukah resources.

Chanukah Recordings
CBI Zoom Backgrounds
Chanukah from Home Resources
Chanukah Activities, Recipes, and Crafts
Chanukah Music
CBI Chanukah Video Library

Visit here to find out more about how to support CBI during Chanukah.

Chanukah Recordings

Thursday, December 10 (Candle 1)

Air Fryer Sufganiyot How-To Video
What’s sweet and fried with jelly inside? Sufganiyot! Review a how-to video made, by some of our youngest congregants Click here to learn how Elodie and Adeline and Air Fryer Sufganiyot.

Click here to cook along with Elodie and Adeline.
Ingredients and Recipe for Air Fryer Sufganiyot

Challah-kuh Braiding Class
What do we do when it’s Shabbat and Chanukah at the same time? Bake a chanukiah shaped challah! Preheat your ovens and join us on Zoom to learn how to braid your challah!

To braid along with Rabbi Joseph, please prepare your dough beforehand to prep your ingredients. This dough will require 2 hours to rise beforehand.
Ingredients and Directions

All Congregation Candle Lighting
Join us over Zoom as we light the first candle.

Friday, December 11 (Candle 2)

Chanukah Shabbat Celebration
Put on your ugliest Chanukah sweater and Zoom in for a lively, musical community celebration. We’ll light candles, share the stories behind our individual chanukiot and family traditions, and celebrate together.

Saturday, December 12 (Candle 3)

Mini Mensch Chanukah Celebration
Rabbi Joseph and Kim Schneiderman sing, share stories, learn, dance, celebrate, and get their wiggles out with the Mini Mensches at our Mini Mensch Chanukah Celebration, designed for our littlest members and their families.

All Congregation Candle Lighting and Havdalah Service
Join us over Zoom as we light the third candle and say a sweet farewell (until next week!) to Shabbat.

Sunday, December 13 (Candle 4)

The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming
Rabbi Cahana will read the classic story The Latke That Wouldn’t Stop Screaming. Most Zooms ask you to mute; this storytime, turn the volume up and scream along!

Latke Cooking Class
Three-time reigning champion from Brotherhood’s annual Latkes and Vodkas competition, Dan Heims, shares his secrets and tells us how it’s done! Be sure to prep your supplies beforehand!

Ingredients and Prep Materials

Diverse Communities Candle Lighting
Come together for this multicultural, multi-faith, multi-race event as we light candles, share music and traditions, and connect (and play dreidel) in Zoom breakout rooms.

Monday, December 14 (Candle 5)

Sisterhood Candle Lighting
Join the WRJ/Beth Israel Sisterhood in lighting our chanukiah and saying the blessings.

Tuesday, December 15 (Candle 6)

Congregational Candle Lighting and Stump the Singers
Stick around after the lighting candles for a Chanukah sing along like no other. We don’t expect you’ll be able to stump our singers but try your best to find something they can’t rhyme while singing the dreidel song.

Wednesday, December 16 (Candle 7)

Social Action Candle Lighting and Sharing the Light Fair
Our Social Action Committee lights the candles and says the Chanukah blessings. Once the candles are lit, leaders from our community partners, nonprofits, and advocacy groups will hold a roundtable discussion about the greater Portland community’s most pressing needs—and we can help

Thursday, December 17 (Candle 8)

Congregational Candle Lighting and Author Eric Kimmel: A Chanukah ConversationWe are honored to welcome Eric Kimmel, Caldecott Award honoree for Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins and author of over 150 children’s books, on the last night of Chanukah for a conversation with Rabbi Cahana. Our thanks to Emily Powell and Powell’s Books for making this event possible.

CBI Zoom Backgrounds

Celebrate Chanukah with all the charm of a CBI Zoom background! It almost like being back on campus! Click the links to download.

Chalk Chanukiah

Meet Us Outside of the Dome

Visit the inside of our Main Sanctuary

Celebrate with CBI Staff in the Snow

Hang Out Infront of our Snowy Dome

Spin the Dreidle with some of your favorite faces at CBI

Join us in the Main Sanctuary

Meet on the Bimah

Enjoy the Pipe Organ

Chanukah from Home Resources

Need a refresher on Chanukah? Review with Rabbi Joseph!
Learn how to play dreidel with Ben Sandler
Learn the Chanukah blessings here
Read the story of Chanukah
How to light a Chanukiah
Chanukah for Tots
Watch the Chanukah Shaboom Special with Your Kids
Teach and Practice a Different Jewish Value Each Night of Chanukah
8 Different Themes of Chanuakah for 8 Different Night
Find even more Chanukah resources!

Chanukah Activities, Recipes, and Crafts

Chanukah Lanterns	Learn to play Dreidel
Create Your Own Olive Oil	5 types of Incredible, Edible Chanukiot
Create a DIY Conductive Chanukiah	Craft Milk Carton Dreidels
Peanut Butter Gelt Cookies Recipe	Potato Latke Recipe
Israeli Sufganiyot (Donuts) Recipe	Moroccan Sfenj (Yemenite Zalabia Fried Dough) Recipe
Homemade Applesauce Recipe	Sweet Potato and Carrot Latkes (Gluten-Free) Recipe