President Obama releases Chanukah message

Public lightings, special needs programming, gift-bringing (not just giving), and lots of latkes make up the Chanukah events taking place throughout our area beginning this Sunday. As of press time, here are the highlights, as assembled by Lois Goldrich and Beth Chananie:

December 10

Temple Beth-El in Jersey City will hold a Chanukah tot Shabbat, 10:30 -11:30 a.m. For pre-school children and their parents, it will be led by Sam Pesin, and includes storytelling, arts and crafts, music, and refreshments. Each child must be accompanied by at least one parent. (201) 333-4229 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

December 11

These two recipe books make lovely gifts for Chanukah — enjoy some of the featured recipes and remember to check my Cooking With Beth Blog at http://www.jstandard.com for some others.

The first two recipes come from “Temptations: Modern Kosher Recipes for Every Occasion,” published by ATARA (the sisterhood of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck). The cookbook is designed for today’s home chef and includes recipes (and spectacular photos of recipes) that are certain to produce mouthwatering dishes. The recipes are clearly marked meat, dairy, or pareve, and have step-by-step, easy-to-follow directions. There are also Pesach recipe conversions to make your favorite recipes available for the Festival of Unleavened Bread. There are wine pairings, too. “Temptations” can be purchased online at http://www.ketertorah.org/cookbook or at local establishments and Judaica emporia, including Glatt Express in Teaneck.

JERUSALEM — Latkes and sufganiyot, the jelly-filled doughnuts especially popular in Israel, are well-known Chanukah fare made with oil to signify the holiday tale.

Lesser known is the tradition of cheese and the story of Judith.

The books of the Chanukah story never made it into the Bible — and neither did the book of Judith. It tells of a beautiful widow whose town was under siege by the army of the Assyrians. She decided to visit the commander in chief of the army to ask him not to overtake the town. As the story goes, she gives him wine, he gets fall-down drunk, and falls into a stupor. Judith beheads the king and saves her people and the town.