A Hanukkah performance took place at the “Beit Baruch” Home for the Elderly, a unique social institution of the Dnipro Jewish Community, marking the opening of the festive Hanukkah marathon in Dnipro. The core of the extensive program was the musical play “Let’s Kindle the Hanukkah Candles,” prepared by the “Beit Baruch” creative studio, along with a concert program by students of the Dnipro Jewish Lyceum.
The play “Let’s Kindle the Hanukkah Candles” was based not on historical but on contemporary material. The seniors shared how Hanukkah light helps maintain optimism, how Yiddishkeit offers salvation in the most difficult conditions, and how beloved music helps dispel negative emotions, depression, and pessimism. The head of the creative studio, Rivka Lazareva, wrote new lyrics set to the tunes of popular melodies, allowing the audience to sing along and actively express their emotions as soon as the first familiar notes of well-known Jewish, Ukrainian, and even French songs were played.
The lyceum students’ concert program was hosted by teacher Victoria Pliner, who warmly and sincerely introduced each performer. The first musical number was the song “The Glow of Hanukkah” performed by 2nd-grade students, which drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. This was followed by Mark Bondar, who delighted those present with his virtuoso piano playing, and the segment concluded with a touching flute performance by the young Sofia Sidekova.
The second segment was opened by a dance performance by the first-grade class with improvised Hanukkah candles, filling everyone’s hearts with joy for the upcoming holiday. The concert concluded with a powerful, emotionally charged performance by the wonderful duo of talented lyceum students, Kira Bondar and Arina Aranovskaya. Staff from the Jewish Medical Clinic also joined the residents and employees of the “Beit Baruch” Home for the Elderly to enjoy the performance.
“For our residents, such meetings are not just a concert; they are the living light of Hanukkah, which supports, inspires, and genuinely extends life,” said Malvina Ruvinskaya, Director of the Home for the Elderly. “I wish to express sincere gratitude to our social worker Rivka Lazareva, and to the Jewish Lyceum teachers Victoria Pliner, Svitlana Paliukh, and Tetiana Kvasha, who prepared a very vibrant, harmonious, and inspiring event of the highest level. We are proud that our Home for the Elderly has been entrusted with the honor of opening the Hanukkah marathon in our close-knit, united Dnipro Jewish Community under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
