Rabbi Didy Waks Invites the Public to the Gelt Drop in Clinton, New York

Rabbi Didy Waks is inviting members of the public to the Chocolate Gelt Drop on the Village Green in Clinton, New York this weekend.

It will take place on Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 5:00pm on the Village Green to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah.

This year Hanukkah begins at sunset on November 28 and ends at on Monday, December 6.

On "WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning" Rabbi Waks talked about the Jewish calendar and the timing of Hebrew holidays.  "Every facet of it follows a cosmic analogy."

During this weekend's celebration in Clinton the start of Hanukkah will also be marked by a lighting of the Menorah at 5:00pm.

Although the presentation of gelt is not necessarily new, Rabbi Waks says, the tradition of dropping coins from the top of a fire ladder is a new invention, one designed to make the event more accessible to all.

"We are lighting candles of joy," he says, and spreading that joy to the community.

Rabbi Waks also talked briefly about the Netflix series "My Unorthodox Life."  He cautioned that the reality show does not truly reflect Orthodox life and said that, while entertaining, the producers and stars have taken some creative liberties with the show.

He added that he and his family were also the subject of a reality show in Australia.  So, he says, he knows that the shows are somewhat scripted and everything is not always as it appears on television.