Reminder of war part of menorahs
The excited chattering of 27 11-and-12-year-olds slowly ended as they realized what their teachers and educational director had placed on tables for their Hanukkah art project.
It began with a piece of Lucite -- about a foot square. There were paper cutouts of Stars of David, words for peace in several languages, multicolored glass stones, Mod Podge -- and bullet shell casings.
The minor Jewish holiday begins tonight. Area Jewish congregations teach about Hanukkah in different ways. Most agree that they want to convey the idea of overcoming oppression imposed by outside forces, but seeking peace whenever possible.
These seemingly disparate elements in the Hanukkah menorahs the kids were to create this past weekend at Congregation Beth Judea in Long Grove came together through the lessons taught by educational director Anna Besser.
As Besser spoke, the kids listened attentively.
She told the story of the small band of Maccabees who reclaimed the ancient temple in 165 BCE to find only enough pure oil for the menorah to burn for one day. Miraculously, it lasted for eight days.
Besser explained that the idea for including bullet cartridges in the menorah came from the Marshall Center of the Board of Jewish Education.
"They developed the concept and we got the Lucite and casings from them," she said.
After carefully considering his words, Ethan Gordon, 12, of Buffalo Grove said, "Israel has no peace. Personally, I feel it's better to use these bullet casings for this project than for shooting, but it's important to recognize that they represent us winning a war."
Besser ended the session while the Mod Podge dried by quoting Benjamin Netanyahu, "A prescription for instant peace is a prescription for no peace."
Ethan agreed, adding, "If they stop that second, they don't have time to prepare for peace and there will be more war for more land."
He and his classmates had learned the lessons of Hanukkah and now had new menorahs to use in lighting the candles for eight days, beginning tonight.