Last month, NowGen — the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville’s young adult professional group — debuted 8 Nights of Nashville, featuring one community event each night of Chanukah from Dec. 7 to 14.
Nashville community members celebrated the first night of Chanukah at Inglewood Lounge, a bar in East Nashville, for East Side Tribe’s fifth annual Hanukkah Out East. The event featured live DJs, special cocktails, a dreidel drinking game, and a Chanukah buffet of latkes, sufganiyot, roasted vegetables and brisket sandwiches from Actual Food Nashville.
Eric Mirowitz, the volunteer leader of East Side Tribe, said about 120 community members showed up for the celebration.
“It was a really fun party,” Mirowitz said. “It was like a ton of energy and I met a lot of people.”
Mirowitz said members sold East Side Tribe T-shirts at the event, marking the organization’s first merch sale. Next to the merch table was a donation station for the Israel crisis fund.
The second night of Chanukah was hosted by the three residents of Moishe House Nashville. The 32 participants enjoyed a shabbat dinner, followed by chanukkiah lighting, latkes and dreidels. The hosts provided dinner and guests brought desserts and side dishes.
Micah-Nections, Congregation Micah’s group of young professionals, planned a community service event Dec. 9 to help clean the Jewish cemetery on their property. The event was postponed to Dec. 16 due to inclement weather.
“The word ‘Chanukah’ actually means ‘dedication’ or ‘rededication’ because it’s talking about the rededication of the ancient temple in Jerusalem,” said Cantor Josh Goldberg of Congregation Micah. “We wanted to do something as a volunteer mitzvah project.”
The 15 volunteers helped clean headstones and raked leaves at the cemetery.
Jewsic City invited Nefesh Mountain, a Jewish bluegrass group based in New York, to Nashville Dec. 9 for their “Love & Light” tour, which they said is meant to spread love, unity, and compassion in these difficult times. The 21+ show took place at the Analog at Hutton Hotel.
“I’ve been a fan of [Nefesh Mountain] for a long time and personal friends with them, so it was really good to see them and get to hang out with the Jewsic City people and all the folks that came out,” Goldberg said.
He added that the documentary crew following the band on their tour filmed Goldberg, his friends in Jewsic City, and the band members hanging out after the show, so he might appear in the documentary.
For the fourth night of Chanukah, the Gordon Jewish Community Center hosted their 10th annual Chanukah festival Dec. 10. Participants enjoyed an evening of latkes, donuts, and dinner.
On Dec. 11, Rabbi Rav Natan Freller and his wife, Bel, hosted a Chanukah gathering at their home in West End. Freller is a new rabbi at West End Synagogue. The gathering was intended to encourage guests to meet other Nashville Jewish community members in their 20s and 30s.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville hosted Jewish Community Night with the Nashville Predators Dec. 12. The game, at Bridgestone Arena, featured the Predators versus the Philadelphia Flyers. A portion of the ticket revenue went toward the Federation’s Annual Campaign, which benefits Jewish lives in Nashville, Israel, and 70 other countries around the world.
Rabbi Michael Shulman and Next Dor — Congregation Ohabai Shalom’s young professionals’ group — hosted candle-lighting and bourbon tasting at The Temple Dec. 13. Shulman, a certified bourbon steward, led a guided tasting and taught the basics of bourbon and the Jewish connections to the whiskey industry in America. The event also featured snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.
NowGen closed the eight nights of festivities with their annual Chanukah party at the Adventure Science Center Dec. 14. The party, open to guests of all ages, featured appetizers, drinks, and Chanukah candle-lighting.
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