Frederick Ricky Kamil

The story of Hanukkah is considered a miracle by those who observe the holiday, said Frederick Kamil, an interdisciplinary humanities senior and president of the Hillel Jewish Student Center.

After the Jewish people of Jerusalem escaped religious oppression brought on by the Greeks, they rededicated their holy Temple by lighting the menorah, which translates to "candlestick."The miracle occurred when a small amount of oil, which was only expected to last for one day, stayed lit for eight days.

"We celebrate this historical event because we are grateful to be able to practice our religion," Kamil said.

Many Jews consider lighting the menorah the most important aspect of Hanukkah, although there are a lot of other traditions involved in this "Festival of Lights," Kamil said.
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The letters form an acronym that means "the great miracle happened there," Kamil said.

Frederick "Ricky" Kamil , Program Associate Hillel at EMU welcomes Frederick Kamil as the new Program Associate. Ricky, as he likes to be called, graduated from Michigan State University with honors this past spring, 2008, with a BA in Interdisciplinary Humanities and a specialization in Jewish Studies. At MSU, Ricky was president of the Jewish Student Union during his senior year. In 2007 and 2008, Ricky participated in MSU Hillel's Alternative Spring Break trips to Uruguay and to Argentina. He is consequently very excited to be involved in planning the 2009 trip for EMU. Ricky went on Taglit Birthright Israel in the summer of 2007; following the Birthright experience, he remained in Israel for two months to travel and study at Hebrew University. Through Taglit Birthright Israel, Ricky was able to learn a lot about Ha Eretz, and the people that live in Israel. He became very familiar with the culture of Israel, listening to Hadag Nahash, his favorite band, enjoying all the food, even one time eating an entire schwarma, and of course the best beer in the world, Gold Star. Ricky is enjoying his job as the Hillel at EMU Program Associate.