(MORRIS COUNTY, NJ) -- To celebrate the 2022 Hanukkah season, The Rabbinical College will be having a Car Menorah Parade on Monday,  December 19. The Parade departs from the Rabbinical College in Morristown at 4:45pm and travels to Chabad of West Orange , culminating in great Holiday festivities.  

The parade route will travel via the main thoroughfares of Morristown, Livingston and West Orange, including Whippany Rd. Route 10 and Pleasant Valley Way, in a unique Hanukkah celebration promoting holiday awareness. The parade will end at the Chabad in West Orange NJ for a Joyous Holiday celebration with Donuts etc.   

The Car Menorah Parade is part of the worldwide Hanukkah campaign, an initiative launched by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, in 1973. The campaign highlights and encourages the central theme of the holiday — publicizing the story of the Hanukkah miracle. 

Today, the unprecedented public display of Hanukkah has become a staple of Jewish cultural and religious life, forever altering the American practice and awareness of the festival. 

This year, Chabad-Lubavitch will set up more than 15,000 large public menorahs in more than 100 countries around the world, including in front of landmarks such as the White House, the Eiffel Tower, and the Kremlin. 

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins this year on the evening of Sunday, December 18 and concludes the evening of Monday, December 26. It recalls the victory of a militarily weak Jewish people who defeated the Syrian-Greeks who had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and prohibit religious freedom. They also desecrated and defiled the Temple and the oil prepared for the lighting of the Menorah, which was part of the daily service. Upon recapturing the Temple only one jar of undefiled oil was found, enough to burn only one day, but it lasted miraculously for eight. In commemoration Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabra known as a Menorah. Today, people of all faiths consider the holiday a symbol and message of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness. Additional information about the Hanukkah holiday is available at www.rca.edu/Hanukkah. 

But this year there will be a special celebration at the end of the parade in the Chabad in the spirit of *Hakhel 

What is Hakhel?  

Every seven years is a Hakhel year. In ancient times, during a Hakhel year, Jews would stream to Jerusalem to unite in the Holy Temple, and hear Torah from the king.  

Hakhel today:  Today, you are the king. You have the power to unite.  Gather together for a lunch class, social evening, or book club meeting. Just gather members of the tribe to be together, learn Torah, and inspire each other!   For more info go to rca.edu/hakhel 

The Rabbinical College of America offers Jewish education, outreach and social service programming for families and individuals of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations.