“It has been a very difficult year and we have worked through many challenges together,” Stanley said in his speech. “As we gather tonight to light the grand menorah we’re reminded of the courage and power of faith to make the darkness light.”

Hanukkah is a celebration of Jewish soldiers winning the war. The menorah represents a story where the soldiers lit a candle without expecting it to last, but it burned for eight days straight.

Students and families each held a single candle lit from one flame at the ceremony. Then they partook in jelly donuts and latkes, a potato dish, afterward. 

“We have the power to be someone’s light,” Shemtov said in his speech. “When you spark someone else, your own flame doesn’t diminish, it only gets stronger.”

MSU Chabad president Jacob Wilson helped run the event and said the holiday is an important way to show togetherness. 

“In the Jewish faith, one of the big things is that we’re all like family at the end of the day,” Wilson said. “We want to push the importance of spending time together, spending time with your family, even if they’re not people you directly know, why not get to know them?”