Boston
Globe
December
17, 2011
TO DO
LIST:
HOLIDAY
EVENTS
December
17, 2011
-
Boston,
Massachusetts
By June
Wulff |
Globe
Staff
PICK OF
THE DAY:
Let
there be
light -
This
time of
year,
Handel
is
usually
associated
with his
“Messiah,’’
but
George
Frideric
also
penned
the
Hanukkah
oratorio,
“Judas
Maccabaeus,’’
one of
the
selections
at
tomorrow’s
“A Light
Through
the
Ages.’’
Boston
Jewish
Spirit
presents
a
multi-faith
holiday
celebration
of love,
family,
hope,
and
peace
featuring
the
musicians
of
Emmanuel
Music
and a
candlelight
ceremony.
Dec. 18
at 4
p.m.
Free.
Emmanuel
Church,
15
Newbury
St.,
Boston.
617-262-1202.
www.bostonjewishspirit.org
For
Immediate
Release
November
16, 2011
A NEW
HOLIDAY
TRADITION
BEGINS
IN
BOSTON’S
BACK BAY
ON
DECEMBER
18th
WITH “A
LIGHT
THROUGH
THE
AGES”
November
16,
2011-
Boston,
Massachusetts
On
December
18, 2011
at 4pm,
Boston
Jewish
Spirit
will
open its
doors at
its
shared
home at
Emmanuel Church for
“A Light
Through
the
Ages,”
a
holiday
celebration
of love,
family,
hope and
peace.
Presented
by
Boston
Jewish
Spirit
and
featuring
the
world
renowned
musicians
of
Emmanuel
Music, this free holiday concert celebrates
Chanukah’s
deep
spiritual
meaning
through
story
and song
and
explores
messages
of major
contemporary
importance
for
people
of all
ages and
backgrounds.
The
original
text of
“A Light Through the Ages,” written by Rabbi
Howard
A.
Berman,
was
first
performed
in New
York
City 34
years
ago, and
provides
a
chronicle
of the
holiday
from
different
times
and
places
over the
centuries.
Choral
selections
of
traditional
and
contemporary
holiday
music
highlight
the
narrative,
and the
program
concludes
with a
dramatic
candlelight
ceremony.
Chanukah,
the
eight
day
“Festival
of
Lights,”
commemorates
the
victorious
struggle
for
religious
freedom
by the
Jewish
people
in the
face of
oppression
in 165
B.C.E.
It is
also
linked
to the
universal
Winter
Solstice
festivals
that
have
been
observed
by many
faiths
and
cultures
throughout
history,
celebrating
light
and
warmth
in the
midst of
the
season’s
darkness.
It has
long
been a
beloved
family
tradition
affirming
faith
and
hope. In
modern
times,
the
festival
has
emerged
as a
major
expression
of the
Jewish
spiritual
presence
in the
midst of
the
December
holiday
season,
which
reflects
the rich
diversity
of
American
society.
Today,
Chanukah
is
widely
recognized
and
embraced
by
people
of all
faiths
as a
major
dimension
of this
shared
time of
celebration
and its
universal
ideals
of joy
and
peace.
ABOUT
BOSTON
JEWISH
SPIRIT
Boston
Jewish
Spirit
began in
June
2004
when
Rabbi
Howard
Berman
and
Rabbi
Devon
Lerner
decided
to
create a
new
alternative
High
Holy Day
experience
for the
Boston
community.
Recognizing
the need
for a
progressive,
inclusive
Jewish
experience
for a
variety
of
constituencies
in the
city's
central
neighborhoods,
BJS was
conceived
as a
special
outreach
to
interfaith
and
multicultural
families,
LGBT
people,
urban
dwellers
and all
spiritual
seekers
interested
in an
accessible
encounter
with the
liberal
ideals
and
traditions
of
Reform
Judaism.
The
inaugural
worship
services
were
held on
Rosh
Hashanah,
as
guests
of
Arlington
Street
Church,
coincidentally
making
these
the
first
Jewish
services
to be
held in
Back Bay
in
Boston
history.
With an
enthusiastic
response
from the
250
people
who
attended
the
service,
Boston
Jewish
Spirit
was
born.
For more
information
go to
www.BostonJewishSpirit.org
