Celebrating the Festival of Lights

On December 18, Batei Tsibur, NYCHA’s organization of Jewish employees, hosted its annual Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony at 90 Church Street. The guest speaker, Rabbi Kasriel Kastel, Program Director of the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, discussed the importance of incremental change in his talk, “Illuminate Your Life – One Candle at a Time.” Rather than attempt a big display, he told guests, simply light one candle and then another, and as others join you, there will be enough illumination to light the world. The celebration also featured potato latkes with apple sauce and creme fraiche.

Batei Tsibur is an employee organization at NYCHA that provides support, information, and cultural programming on Jewish themes. The Hebrew phrase “batei tsibur” means “public housing” in English.