Monday marked the fifth day of Hanukkah and Chabad of Washington celebrated on the lawn of the Washington County Courthouse. Rabbi Mendel Wolowik led the Jewish community in a celebration that included prayers, song, dance and traditional foods. Hanukkah is known as the “Festival of Lights” because according to Jewish teachings, God created a miracle and made one jar of oil that would only last one day, to light a menorah in the Second Temple of Jerusalem, last eight days. Rabbi Wolowik said that people should dedicate themselves during the holiday to bring light to those people and the areas around them. He indicated that the Hamas invasion into Israel on October 7 was a reminder that extra work is needed to bring more light into everyone’s life. In addition to the celebration on the courthouse lawn, Chabad of Washington is running a Hanukkah toy drive in cooperation with the Citizens Library. Anyone may bring a new toy to the donation area of the library and it will be distributed to underprivileged and hospitalized children. The drive runs until the end of December.