Trip to Israel makes Hanukkah more meaningful

JERUSALEM — For Reform Jews like us, Hanukkah means lighting candles, eating latkes and opening presents. But this year the holiday holds deeper meaning: It’s a way of remembering our trip to Israel, where we connected with the real story of Hanukkah and brought a piece of it home.

We took the trip to celebrate our son Aden’s bar mitzvah. In addition to me, my husband and our sons ages 10, 13 and 16, six other relatives came along.

• THE GUIDE WHO KEPT US GOING.

A big part of the success of our trip was our guide, Dani Margolis, who was worth his weight in shekels. Official Israeli guides are required to know ancient history, food, culture and geography. Dani knows that and more. An avid outdoorsman and foodie, he also pushed us outside our comfort zones, from rappelling in the Valley of Death outside Jerusalem to eating schwarma near the Golan Heights.

• DIG FOR A DAY.

When Dani said we were headed to an archaeological dig, I feared boredom. But our visit to the National Park of Beit Guvrin turned out to be a highlight for all, from kids to grandparents. Armed with shovels, spades and buckets, we got a lesson in the proper way to dig before entering the underground unexcavated caves. The program, called Dig for a Day, is run by the Archaeological Seminars Institute.

According to Israel’s Biblical Archaeological Society, one onsite dig unearthed part of a stone tablet with an inscription connected to the Maccabees, the rebel army whose story is central to Hanukkah. When the Maccabees rededicated a temple, the story goes that there was only enough oil to light a lamp for one day, but the light burned for eight days. That’s why Hanukkah candles are lit for eight nights.

• OTHER ADVENTURES.

• Renting bikes in Tel Aviv: Ride the Mediterranean shoreline to the old city of Jaffa, stop at a seaside cafe and swim at a crowded beach.

• Tubing on the Sea of Galilee: In northern Israel, see Tiberias from a motorboat. Lively Israeli music blares as you bounce through the water on a giant inner tube.