נֵס גָּדוֹל הָיָה שָׁם (pronounced nes gadól hayá sham and read from right to left) is the phrase “a great miracle happened there." On December 1, that miracle was celebrated on campus.
The four Hebrew letters on a dreidel represent the Hebrew saying, above, which references the miracle of the jar of oil around 168 BCE (or 3594 on the Jewish calendar). The Jews celebrate Hanukkah to remember when Antiochus IV invaded Jerusalem and desecrated the holy temple. There was only one jar of oil uncontaminated and it was only supposed to last for one night, but it lasted for eight nights. Fr. Tito Serrano, O.F.M., working with the Colonie Chabad Jewish Center, brought the Hanukkah celebration to campus.
Rabbi Mordechai Rubin provided traditional Hanukkah delicacies of homemade latkes and jelly donuts for the Siena community to sample as well as many mini dreidels for everyone to spin. He also lit the menorah and sang the prayers.
Hanukkah began this year on November 28. The eighth candle will be lit on Monday, December 6.
“As a Jewish student at Siena, it truly means a lot to me that Siena is educating its students on different religions and traditions. Hanukkah is the holiday I celebrate, and having a menorah lighting on campus allowed me to share part of myself with the Siena community, which was really special.
I hope Siena continues to celebrate Jewish holidays and holidays from other faiths. Everyone who attended the menorah lighting was interested and eager to learn, which made me so happy. Siena can feel like home no matter your religion."
Elaine Gaynor ’22