By Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Director of the Jewish Community Relations Committee (JCRC), Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor
On December 10, the local Hindu and Jewish communities will come together for a Chanukah-Diwali festival at the JCC of Greater Ann Arbor at 5:30 pm. This multicultural celebration will include learning traditional Hindu and Israeli dances, making dreidels and Hindu diya candles, and how to wear traditional clothing. In addition, building on the decade-long tradition of the JCC’s annual One Candle for Tzedakah program that has aimed to teach children to give and not just receive during this season, there will be a toy donation drive to benefit UM’s Mott Children’s Hospital, demonstrating both tzedakah – the Jewish value of charity or righteousness and the Hindu tradition of seva – selfless service and dedication to others. Of course, there will be Hindu and Jewish foods of the season: latkes and vegetarian samosas, sufganiyot (jelly donuts) and a whole host of vegetarian Hindu dishes.
The entire event is sponsored by the family of Samantha Woll, z”l, whose dedication to bringing diverse people and communities together was demonstrated in multiple ways – particularly through her love of the many Chanukah-Diwali celebrations arranged by the American Jewish Committee/Jewish Community Relations Committee of Detroit. This year’s Ann Arbor Chanukah-Diwali event is co-sponsored by the Hindu Community Relations Council of Michigan, MI India, the JCC of Greater Ann Arbor, the JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor, and the Jewish People of Color Network of Greater Ann Arbor.
The Jewish and Hindu communities have had a long-standing relationship with one another. Cochini Jews are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots dating back to the time of King Solomon. The synagogue in Cochin is one of the oldest still-existing synagogues in the world. Even after the founding of the State of Israel, many thousands of B’nai Israel Jews and Jews of Iraqi origin remained in Mumbai and other cities in India because of how comfortable Jews felt living there. Even today, there are some excellent Indian-made foods you can buy in America that have kosher supervision from the local Hindu community. In addition to tzedakah and seva, Judaism and Hinduism share a wide range of values, including family, communal ties, ethics, the concept of a chosen people, and a strong connection to a sacred homeland. Both Judaism and Hinduism also follow a complicated calendar combining solar and lunar systems.
Both Chanukah and Diwali cast a light that will enable our communities to come together to enjoy learning about each other, to spread kindness, and to connect with the beautiful diversity we live in.
To register for this program, please visit jccannarbor.org. Shalom and Namaste!
The Chanukah-Diwali event is sponsored by the family of Samantha Woll in her memory.