Rabbi Daniel Swartz will discuss climate change with the Pope wnep.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wnep.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UpdatedThu, Dec 10, 2020 at 3:39 pm ET
Replies(8)
Light those candles and keep your religious celebration at home this year, say faith leaders statewide. (Shutterstock)
HARRISBURG, PA Religious leaders statewide joined Gov. Tom Wolf this week in a big holiday ask: Please stay home for your holiday worship and religious celebrations.
Wolf issued a statement this week asking Pennsylvanians to take COVID-19 precautions and help one another stay safe during the upcoming holiday season. After a difficult year like this one, I know that we all want to take comfort in our family and religious traditions during the holidays, Gov. Wolf said. But the truth is that COVID-19 is still as dangerous as ever right now, and the best thing we can do to protect our loved ones is to worship and celebrate at home this year.
Nearly 2,200 years after fighting off invaders, rededicating their temple and lighting a menorah with a limited supply of oil, Jews will light their own menorahs tonight as the world fights off a viral invader.
Hanukkah, also known as the Jewish Festival of Lights, begins at sunset today and concludes Dec. 18. The holiday celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, a group of rural, working-class people, who overthrew Syrian-Greek invaders and rededicated their Jerusalem temple.
In addition to rededicating their temple, connecting with God through the temple rites, the Maccabees used the time as a means of âredoingâ their harvest festival, Sukkot, after they were unable to celebrate due to the war, said Rabbi Daniel Swartz of Scrantonâs Temple Hesed. At the time, Sukkot was their major holiday, he said.