Lots a Latkas

I love Chanukah so much. It’s yet another important celebration of Jewish resistance, strength, survival, and joy. I’m so proud of how the Jewish people have turned our darkest moments in history into holidays of happiness and togetherness. We honor both the suffering and victories of our ancestors by lighting our menorahs publicly for all to see. The menorah lights, reminiscent of the giant menorah in the Holy Temples in Jerusalem thousands of years ago, never fail to move me. As a nation, Jews have alchemized the ever present threat of persecution and destruction into a vow to live life to the fullest. Every Holocaust survivor I have ever met soaks up the gift of each moment; I have never seen anything like it. The menorah and the holiday symbolize the miracle of light, continuity, and the superhuman ability to outlast more than we imagine to be possible. Whether or not you’re Jewish or celebrating Chanukah, I invite you to contemplate what light means for you. What does it symbolize for you, what can fire burn away in your life, how can the power of one little flame spark your soul?

Please enjoy some of my favorite past latka recipes. I’ve experimented with different kinds throughout the years. I love a solid classic potato but also like to get creative with other vegetables and flavors. These potato pancakes fried in oil symbolize the miracle of a tiny amount of oil lasting a full 8 days in the holy menorah as the Jews were under siege, during the reign of Antiochus and the Ancient Greek empire. No matter what is thrown at the Jewish people we keep our traditions alive at all costs. In doing so we keep our spirits alive. The spark lives on.

That’s me in nursery school, lighting our synagogue menorah!!