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The optimism was palpable on the final day of Hanukkah at the Bayonne Jewish Community Center. For the second consecutive year, members of various Hudson County synagogues united not only to celebrate the holiday, but also to appreciate the revival of the area's Jewish community.

As a crowd of about 250 delved into latkes, hot dogs, and other treats during "Hanukkah on the Hudson" Dec. 28, many danced in a circle to the music of the Hester Street Troupe. The event was organized by HudsonJewish and the UJA Federation of Bayonne, while the JCC on Kennedy Boulevard donated its space and staff.

During a menorah lighting officiated by Rabbi Gordon Gladstone of Bayonne's Temple Beth Am and Rabbi Robert Scheinberg from the United Synagogue of Hoboken, each candle was dedicated to a hero or major event in Jewish history as well as an honoree from a HudsonJewish member synagogue.

While Hudson County's Jewish community experienced population decline after its peak in the 1950s and 60s, the second annual Hanukkah event showcased the area's recent growth, spurred by younger families and singles moving in from New York City and other regions. At the JCC, those young Hudson residents converged with an older generation that refused to leave Hudson even during the Jewish community's lean times.

"This is an older community, but this event is getting young and old people back together again," Joseph Wigdor, former president of the Bayonne Zionist Organization, told Jewish Life. "There is still life and a future in Hudson County."

Perhaps nobody at the program witnessed more of the community's ebbs and flows than Ruth Preminger, an 86-year-old past president of the Jewish Community Council in Bayonne who wears a "Lion of Judah" pin, noting her lifelong pledge of $5,000 per year to the UJA Federation.

"What I find hard to accept is that I've lived in this community for 65 years and there is this overwhelming Jewish community that shrunk," Preminger said. "This gives hope that there are Jewish people out there in Hudson, and that we can come together and realize there are more of us."

Honorees included Joyce Kinigstein (Beth Am), Renee and Albert Bousso (Temple Emanu-El, Bayonne), Hy Nutkis (Congration Ohav Zedek, Bayonne), Joshua Parkhurst and Anna Lukasiak (Temple Beth El, Jersey City), Ira Robbins (Congregation Mount Sinai, Jersey City), Audrey Cohen, Etta Hershfield, Frank Pratt, and Claire Silverman (Congration B'nai Jacob, Jersey City), Matt Meistrich (USH), and Rabbi and Mrs. Moishe Fetman (Temple Beth El, North Bergen).

Robbins stressed that events such as "Hanukkah on the Hudson" are vital because Hudson's synagogues need each other's help to grow and thrive.

"This is the best way to keep Mount Sinai and other shuls going, to have community involvement from everyone -- we can't survive individually," Robbins said.

Bousso, president of Temple Emanu-El, said that he routinely attends events at other synagogues such as B'nai Jacob, Beth Am, and USH, and appreciated the chance to join those other synagogues on Hanukkah.

"It's about the togetherness. I see all my friends from other synagogues here," Bousso said.

Gladstone said that "Hanukah on the Hudson" presents a unique opportunity because the only other instances when Hudson's Jews had previously joined together were during times of tragedy.

"We've never had anything like this before," Gladstone said. "We get to see ourselves. It's wonderful to come together for good things."

Rabbi Clifford Miller, of Temple Emanu-El, couldn't attend last year's inaugural program because he was mourning for the loss of his mother.

"I'm very excited to be here this year and meet people from all over the county, like grandchildren and great-grandchildren that I've never met before because they don't live around the area," Miller said.

For the final candle, the crowd collaborated on a blessing that encapsulated the spirit of the afternoon: "Let this light shine for our Hudson Jewish Community, and for celebrations such as this, bringing us together as one family, one people."

But the event didn't end after the singing of "Maoz Tzur," as the dance floor was immediately re-flooded. After all, it's not every day that Hudson's Jews get the chance to be together in one place.

"This is something we don't get too many occasions to do during the year," Ohav Zedek honoree Nutkis said.