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EAST LIVERPOOL - Dr. Herschel A. Rubin of East Liverpool has practiced Reform Judaism for more than 90 years. Today at sundown Rubin will begin celebrating Chanukah for the 94th time.

When Rubin talks about Chanukah his eyes still sparkle with passion. That same passion can be seen when he talks about celebrating past Chanukah's with his family.

Rubin met his late wife Elsa while they were both attending Ohio State University. "We had a college romance," he said. Elsa was also Jewish, which ensured that both of their children would be Jewish because Jewish lineage is matrilineal. Rubin's grandchildren are also Jewish.

Unfortunately, not many Jews live in the city anymore, he lamented. Rubin attends Beth Shalom Synagogue near the City Hospital. The Synagogue holds services one Friday a month and some of the blessings are conducted in Hebrew.

Rubin sat at his table near the menorah to tell the story of Chanukah, a Jewish holiday celebrating the restoration of the Jerusalem Temple.

In 165 B.C.E., the Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated by Syrian-Greeks. The Syrians had dedicated the Temple to the worship of Greek gods and were also eating swine flesh, which is a practice forbidden by Jews. After much oppression a Jewish band called the Maccabees managed to defeat the Syrian army and restore the Temple. During the restoration a small vial of oil was found. In an effort to purify the Temple, the Maccabees took the oil to light a menorah. Only a day's worth of oil was found in the Temple, but it miraculously ended up lasting eight days.

"Chanukah is a celebration of freedom and deliverance," Rubin said.

Because Jewish holidays follow a lunar calendar Chanukah falls on a different secular calendar day each year. For Jews Chanukah always begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which occurs sometime between late November and late December on the secular calendar. This year, Chanukah begins today at sundown. Next year Chanukah will be celebrated Dec. 2.

Rubin explained that Chanukah begins at sundown because the Jewish day goes from sundown to sundown. On the first night Rubin will light the first candle and eat a dinner consisting of traditional potato latkes, which are ground potato pancakes with onions. Some families choose to make a pot roast as well, Rubin said. Other Chanukah traditions include eating mostly fried foods because they are cooked with oil.

While Chanukah is an important holiday for Jews, it is not one of the major ones, Rubin said. "The first night of Chanukah is a large dinner, otherwise, you basically light a candle in remembrance," he said. Each Chanukah candle is placed in the menorah from right to left because Hebrew is read from right to left, Rubin said. But, the candles must be lit from left to right.

On each subsequent day of Chanukah, candles will be lit with the ninth candle located at the top of the menorah. According to Rubin, the ninth candle represents the priest. Rubin has special candles specifically for Chanukah that were originally made in Tel Aviv.

Another Jewish Chanukah tradition is dreidels. Dreidels are four-sided spinning tops that children play with on Chanukah. Rubin said he has never played with dreidels, but does own one.

Rubin admits his family used to exchange presents during Chanukah even though it wasn't necessarily Jewish tradition.

Rubin received a doctorate of optometry from OSU in 1937. He still owns an office in the Little building on W. 6th Street even though he retired as an optometrist in 1985. He now uses the location for a hobby that "keeps (him) alive" - building a model railroad.