When Temple Beth Torah opened its doors in Chantilly in 2010, the synagogue’s first “big event” was its Chanukah potluck and family service. The annual celebration, one of Temple Beth Torah’s most well-attended events, took place on Dec. 20.
Congregants gathered for latkes with sour cream and applesauce, provided by Temple Beth Torah, and members brought kugel, a chicken dinner and lots of desserts. The potluck portion was followed by a Shabbat family service in which student rabbi Lauren Laird told the Chanukah story interspersed by essential prayers.
The event was also viewed as a rededication of the temple building in 2021, since congregants had been away from the shul for so long due to the pandemic. That winter, TBT not only celebrated Chanukah, but updated its physical space with a fresh coat of paint.
“It [was] a special place for a lot of folks, the celebration of being back together,” Laird said of the 2021 Chanukah celebration. “It’s still something that’s looked forward to every year.”
Her focus is on making the occasion family-friendly for the 30 to 60 attendees, and also meaningful to those with adult children or those without children.
During the Chanukah Shabbat service, at most 40 minutes long, children have the option to sit up front and color a large Chanukah poster and participate in the interactive parts.
“[Kids] love lighting the menorah and being a part of that,” Laird said. “We usually just invite all the kids to come stand up for it when we do that, and our attitude is that we meet our congregants where they are in their Judaism. Part of that is just creating an environment where people want to be, and that goes from our adults all the way down to our little kids; having them be part of [the festivities], however that works for them.”
She also explains each Jewish ritual as she goes through the service, so attendees know “why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
Laird, who previously served as TBT’s cantorial soloist for seven years, said music is important to the Chanukah Shabbat family service: “Music is something that our congregation really enjoys.”
One song she incorporates is “Hanerot Halalu” — “light the candles” — while lighting the menorah. The traditional hymn reminds people of the sacred nature of Chanukah.
“I tend to go back to some of the classics that our adult community remembers from childhood because it really creates a sense of home, which is what our congregants often say; when they found TBT and joined us, they felt at home,” Laird said. “[We go] back to the classics, like ‘O Chanukah’; things that people can sing along with, because it brings joy.”
This joy is palpable at every Chanukah celebration Laird has led at Temple Beth Torah, she said. Laird has gotten into the holiday spirit with a color-changing menorah sweater in the past.
This year, she wore a Chanukah dress and encouraged congregants to don their Chanukah-themed clothes.
“I look forward to the smiles,” Laird said. “Chanukah is the light in the darkness, the darkest time of the year, and [about] having the light of the menorah, having the light inside when we come in from a dark, cold evening. … We come in and you smell the latkes and you see the decorations, and everyone just starts smiling. They have such a wonderful time being together as a community and enjoying themselves.
“As we go through the service, unlike some of the more serious holidays, where folks’ faces are more serious and stoic, I see a lot more smiles out there in the congregation as we start singing a melody that they haven’t sung all year, or when I start singing something like ‘Mi Chamocha’ and they realize, ‘Hey, I know that one,’” she added.
This year’s celebration is especially meaningful to Laird as it marks her last Chanukah service as a student rabbi; she will be ordained in June 2025.
“It did cross my mind that this time next year, I’m not a student rabbi,” Laird said. “Going through the holidays this year, it’s been interesting.”
In May, Rabbi Kenneth Block of TBT retired, and has since been Laird’s mentor as she assumed the role of student rabbi.
“While I led Chanukah solo last year, there is an interesting quality to [leading this year’s],” Laird said. “I am leading and I still am a student rabbi. I wonder, will that feel different next year?”
