Chanukah at the Commons
On Sunday, December 9, The Ingram Commons partnered with Vanderbilt Chabad and Vanderbilt Hillel to celebrate the second of eight nights of Chanukah, also known as The Festival of Lights. At 6pm the Commons Center Atrium filled with students, faculty and staff as Dean Wcislo, along with a few student leaders, lit the Menorah as a celebration of religious freedom.
Rabbi Shlomo Rothstein, director of the Rohr Chabad House at Vanderbilt, planned and led this festive event along with Rabbi Joshua Barton of Vanderbilt Hillel. Faculty heads of house, their first year students and others gathered in a spirit of learning and hope as stories and teachings about the relevance of Chanukah for our day and age were shared by our religious leaders. Following the lighting of the Menorah and a time sacred observance and reflection, traditional Chanukah foods such as Latkes (potato pancakes) and homemade donuts (which everyone decorated) were consumed by an exam-weary student body in need of refreshment.
Chanukah is derived from the Hebrew verb translated as “to dedicate,” pointing back more than two millennia to the time when the second Temple was established. Vanderbilt is proud to continue in this ancient tradition symbolized by lights dispelling the darkest days of winter solstice—a perennial message of hope for all!