Join in community to sing our way into Hanukkah with special guest Batya Levine and come dedicate our outdoor large menorah as we light it for the first time ever. Hanukkah is a holiday of dreaming and miracles, of kindling light in the darkness. We will use our voices and the practice of communal singing to explore the gifts of both darkness and light, as we make our way into the first moments of Hanukkah together. We will sing and light the menorah at 4:30pm, then move indoors, where participants are asked to mask for this event. All-ages welcome and encouraged. Come for the singing and stay for the latkes and sufganiyot/donuts!

Batya Levine (they/she) uses song as a tool for cultivating healing and resilience in their work as a communal song leader, musician, shaliach tzibur (Jewish prayer leader) and cultural organizer. They believe in the liberatory power of song to untie what is bound within us, and sustain us as we build a more just and beautiful world. Batya is a founding core team member of Let My People Sing! and is a Cultural Organizer with Linke Fligl. She offers song, ritual, and workshops in a variety of communities, and composes original music made of Ashkenazi yearning, queer heart-medicine, and emunah (faith/trust). Batya is also a lover of the ocean, queer dance parties, and puns.

As a lifelong student of Jewish song, ritual and practice, Batya supports people to dig into the juiciness of Jewish tradition, for the sake of healing and connection. This work is especially important for those of us who have felt disconnected, alienated or marginalized from Jewish tradition and within Jewish community. Rooted in the traditional wisdom and ruach (spirit) of their Modern Orthodox upbringing, Batya is dedicated to building a vibrant Judaism that simultaneously reaches backward and forward in time, and is wide enough for our whole selves.