The Moorestown Jewish Association used Hanukkah as a way to share local families’ stories.
Every family has a story, according to the Moorestown Jewish Association. This Hanukkah, the MJA wanted to share those stories, so from Tuesday, Dec. 12 through Wednesday, Dec. 20, the MJA highlighted “Humans of Moorestown” in a series of posts on their Facebook page.
Having drawn their inspiration from the popular Facebook page “Humans of New York,” the MJA shared short vignettes providing glimpses into the lives of Jewish families living in Moorestown. MJA co-president Marla Deibler said the goal was to select a different family to light the menorah on the lawn of the Moorestown Community House each night and share their photo along with their story showcasing how Moorestown families celebrate the holiday season.
Deibler said in the past, board members of the MJA would light the menorah. However, last year, the board decided they wanted to give people in the community an opportunity to participate, and so for the first time, the MJA held their “Humans of Moorestown” contest, which Deibler said was met with “great enthusiasm.” For that reason, the MJA decided to bring the “Humans of Moorestown” contest back for a second year in hopes of shining a light on a new group of Moorestown families celebrating Hanukkah.
The nightly menorah lighting has taken on a special significance as a way for Moorestown’s Jewish families to gather together in their hometown and celebrate the eight nights of Hanukkah, Deibler said. She said the MJA’s hope in sharing the “Humans of Moorestown” posts was to share the different ways families celebrate Hanukkah traditions.
“Because we have a lot of interfaith families and no central synagogue, we thought it would be a really nice way to introduce different families in town to what being a Moorestownian means to them and Jewish Moorestownian and why this experience is meaningful to them,” Deibler said.
On Dec. 3, the MJA put out the call to families looking to participate and ultimately selected one family to light the menorah each night and share their story. Deibler said the families ultimately wrote their own posts highlighting how they celebrate the holiday season.
Ruth Tatz said her family has lived in Moorestown for more than 30 years, and at times, it has been “somewhat of a challenge” being Jewish in a town whose population is predominantly not Jewish. She said for that reason, it’s always been important to her to instill Jewish traditions and customs to her two daughters and grandson.
“Our family really embraces and cherishes our heritage and what our ancestors have gone through to kind of preserve this religion that really has been challenged through the years,” Tatz said.
She said 33 years ago, when she and her husband moved to Moorestown, they wanted a town with a diverse population.
“We wanted our children to grow up understanding that life is very multifaceted in religion and color and beliefs,” Tatz said.
Tatz said she entered the contest, in particular, because of her grandson. She said her grandson turns 4 years old this year and is beginning to ask questions about Hanukkah. She said she saw the menorah lighting as a special way to share the holiday with him and her family.
Ben Parvey said his family was honored and delighted to have been selected. He said he was happy to see that rather than just lighting the menorah once, the MJA was taking the opportunity to commemorate each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.
Parvey said his family “goes all out” to celebrate Hanukkah. He said they have a latkes and adorn their house with a plethora of lights. He said his family opens a present each night and plays games with a dreidel.
Cynthia Zipin said she was excited by the prospect of sharing what it’s like living as an interfaith family in Moorestown. She said her husband was raised Jewish while she was raised Catholic, and they decided they wanted to their two, 10-year-old children to experience both holidays.
“It’s special because we are exposing our kids to two different sets of family traditions, which can be both challenging and fun,” Zipin said. “It’s a balancing act to make sure everyone is represented.”
Kimberly Fitch said the MJA has been creating opportunities for Jewish families in Moorestown to connect, and “Humans of Moorestown” is another way to learn about their neighbors.
“I think there’s kind of a community of people who are Jewish,” Fitch said of the MJA. “It’s building a new kind of community space within Moorestown.”
She said her goal is to instill a sense of Jewish culture in her children, and lighting the menorah presented a fun opportunity for her children. Fitch said when she passed by the menorah with her three children, they were excited to hear they’d be lighting it one night.
“They’ve seen the menorah often,” Fitch said. “They asked if we had to bring a big match.”
To read about the “Humans of Moorestown,” visit the Moorestown Jewish Association www.facebook.com/MoorestownJA.
