Congregants at Temple Shalom light the gigantic outdoor menorah in Auburn on Sunday night to mark the sixth night of Hanukkah. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

AUBURN — Temple Shalom’s annual Hanukkah party Sunday evening included a menorah lighting, original children’s play, and a concert from the Maine Music Society.

Congregants celebrated the sixth night of Hanukkah by lighting their giant outdoor menorah with assistance from Auburn’s new mayor, Jason Levesque. 

“It’s an honor to have him in our community,” Rabbi Sruli Dresdner said. 

Once the menorah was lit, people went inside to watch the children of the Temple’s Hebrew school perform an original play. Written and directed by the rabbi’s wife, Lisa Mayer, the play was the third in a series of comedies about the people in a town called Helm.

“The children are not telling you the stories they are emptying the stories,” Mayer said. 

The children sang and danced, and performed the story of a man fighting to get his jelly doughnuts on Hanukkah. 

Along with latkes, jelly doughnuts are one Hanukkah’s most traditional foods.

“But what is Hanukkah?” Rabbi Dresdner asked. “It’s a famous question.”

The Jewish holiday is an eight-day, wintertime festival of lights, celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. The celebrations commemorate the story of Judah the Maccabee who fought to save the Jews in Israel from the Greeks.

While in hiding, Judah lit a menorah that only had a one day’s supply of oil, but it lasted for eight days. That’s why the menorah has eight candles, and why there are eight nights of Hanukkah. 

“We think a lot about the why’s of our holidays, but I think the better message is the what,” Dresdner said. “What is it doing for us now celebrating this holiday together?” he said. “This has been such a special holiday for me because of the Maine Music Society celebrating my traditions and heritage.”

The Maine Music Society, a central-Maine nonprofit organization, held its annual holiday concert Dec. 9 and 10 at The Dolard and Priscilla Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston, incorporated Hanukkah songs with traditional Christmas ones.

John Corrie, the society’s artistic director, worked with Dresdner and a member of the congregation, who is in the choir, to put the show together. 

Dresdner said the woman told Corrie that the Christmas music didn’t feel like her music, and wondered if they could add Hanukkah songs. 

“John was so enthusiastic about it,” Dresdner said. “The three of us got together and figured it out.”

“In Lewiston-Auburn this coming together of our traditions is so special,” Dresdner said.

The choir sang songs in Hebrew and English, including “A Carol for Hanukkah” by Charles Feldman, “Fayer, Fayer” by Mark Zuckerman, and “Light One Candle” by Peter, Paul and Mary. 

The choir also sang a piece written by a friend of Dresdner’s. 

“This is one of the most beautiful Yiddish poems about Hanukkah, but it’s universal,” he said. It is about the transition in the 20th century when young people start to think that old traditions aren’t relevant anymore. 

“A young man has embraced the modern world, but when he watches his father light the Hanukkah lamps he realizes how valuable these traditions are,” Dresdner said. 

Follwing the music, congregants enjoyed a meal of latkes, fruit and salad. 

Hanukkah ends Wednesday, Dec. 20. 

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