By Eva Mandelbaum
On Thursday Dec. 14, students gathered after school to celebrate the last nights of Hanukkah. The cozy party was organized by the Jewish Culture Group (JCG), which is dedicated to educating students about and celebrating Jewish culture and traditions.
Mr. Roher, the club’s adviser, said, “It has been a joy to watch this club grow from the involvement of the students, and it was wonderful to see students of all backgrounds participating in the JCG Hanukkah party.”
At the party, students played Dreidel, a traditional Hanukkah game including a spinning top that has four sides of Hebrew letters. They ate jelly donuts that were donated by a local bakery which are eaten during the holiday to commemorate the story of oil that burned miraculously for eight days. Most important, they gathered as a supportive community in a safe space during a time of global polarization and rampant antisemitism.
Club member Audrey Levin said, “It was nice to have a place where a Jewish holiday was being celebrated with happiness. This feeling of being with others who care about the Jewish culture was much needed especially with the rise of antisemitism in the world. It’s important for WPHS to host a party so there’s the opportunity for kids to have a safe place to celebrate a wonderful holiday and for others to learn about the importance of Hanukkah.”
Sabrina Mondschein, JCG President, shares this sentiment. “The biggest inspiration was to celebrate the holiday that we all love, and also create a chance for the Muslim Student Association to get involved with our club to promote peace,” she said. “I think it is so important to have gatherings like this because it just makes everyone involved feel better about the world around us. Even if there is conflict in other parts of the world, we can still have peace at WPHS.”
