Temple of Israel celebrates Hanukkah with Wilmington community

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – The community was invited to the Temple of Israel’s candle lighting at the Reibman Center in Wilmington on Friday for the sixth night of Hanukkah.

Also known as “The Festival Lights” — Hanukkah is celebrated over eight evenings and includes a symbolic lighting of the Menorah each night.

Music was played before the sixth candle was lit with Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov inviting city leaders, and family of the temple to come up and take part.

Losben-Ostrov said she’s honored to hold the candle-lighting for both Jewish, and non-Jewish members of the community.

“Believe it or not, Hanukkah is not the most important holiday in the Jewish calendar,” she said. “The message is one of the most important, the message, to bring light, the message to persevere, the message of survival, this is an opportunity for us to celebrate, for us to really be joyous.”

Hanukkah lasts for eight days, and the holiday is the anniversary of the re-dedication of the temple in Jerusalem in about 165 BCE.