Dina Jubrak lights her menorah Wednesday for the third night of Hanukkah. On the first night of the Jewish festival of lights, the Hat's Jewish community gathered at Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church to celebrate.--NEWS PHOTO JEREMY APPEL
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
While many people were rushing to get their Christmas shopping done on time, Medicine Hat’s Jewish community began celebrating eights days of Hanukkah Sunday evening.
The Hat had a synagogue – Sons of Abraham – until it closed in 1999. Now, a group of local Jewish people are attempting to reinvigorate the community, hosting festivities for the major Jewish holidays, including the “festival of lights.”
Matthew Gourley says it’s been a longstanding goal of his to bring back the synagogue.
“In order to do that, I obviously needed a serious education on my own. I turned around and didn’t see a lot of Jewish people in this city . It just kind of came to pass and I said, ‘the heck with it, I’m going to start celebrating with my friends and family here, and introduce them to the Jewish high holidays,'” said Gourley.
He began celebrating with eight friends, increasing the number with each holiday. Sunday’s Hanukkah festivities had nearly 50 people who gathered at Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church to light the menorah, while eating latkes and sufganyot (jelly donuts), and spending quality time together
“Just bringing the community together to eat, have a good time, bring their kids and just be together – that’s what’s fundamental to all of it,” Gourley said.
Sunday was Fifth Avenue Memorial Rev. Dave Pollard’s first time celebrating Hanukkah.
He says it’s vital for different faiths to come together and celebrate their shared humanity, not just this time of year but always.
“Part of living in a multicultural, multi-ethnic and religiously diverse society means that we should have some level of understanding of what people are celebrating and perhaps why,” said Pollard.
This sense of interfaith solidarity is precisely why he didn’t have to think twice about letting the Jewish community use his church for its Hanukkah celebration, describing Jews, as well as Muslims and other faiths, as “our cousins.”
“We want them to know they’re a vital and important part of who we are as a city,” said Pollard.
Dina Jubrak, another member of the Jewish community, has been instrumental in assisting Gourley with bringing the Jewish community back together.
“It’s amazing to discover how big the community actually is,” said Jubrak, who lived much of her life in Israel.
“For the last six years I’ve lived here, there was really no outlet to come together as a community and get that experience.”
She said the interfaith collaboration between the Jewish community and Fifth Avenue Memorial shows Christmas and Hanukkah are two interpretations of a similar tradition.
“I’m happy that people can enjoy their thing, but I’m super stoked that I can enjoy mine,” said Jubrak.
Now that Gourley knows a fair amount of fellow Jews in the community, he says the next step is to establish a “Torah-centred youth ministry” to keep the younger generation in touch with their culture.
“In the past, you see religious communities in the city make education of the parents central and put kids off to the side,” he said. “That’s not where society is headed. We have to cater to that.”
