To most Jews, Hanukkah isn’t a major holiday.
That was the first message from Rabbi Lynne Smith of Dothan, Alabama’s Temple Emanu-El as she spoke to an interfaith group Wednesday night at the Spiritual Enrichment Center on South Oates Street.
“Hanukkah is actually a very minor holiday in the Jewish liturgical year,” Goldsmith said to the group, which encompassed Christians, Muslims, Hindu and other religious groups. “The only reason it takes such prominence here in the United States is its proximity to Christmas.”
Goldsmith addressed the group as part of a series of speeches called “Religions of the World.”
“We’ve had a teacher of the Buddhist community in here, one from the Muslim community, a teacher from the Hindu community is coming later, and there have been others as well,” said Rick McCommon, a member of Unity Church, which meets at the Spiritual Enrichment Center. “We have them for a Sunday morning service, they tell us about their faith, then we have a roundtable and everybody asks questions and everybody learns. We honor all faiths. When you get to know somebody, it’s hard to hate them.”
