On Chanukah, there is a special Maftir reading.
When a person moves into a new home or when a shul moves, there is a tradition of holding what is known as a Chanukas ha Bais, dedication or inauguration of the house.
So a discussion about Chanukas ha Bais is especially apt during Chanukah.
The scriptural source for making a Chanukas Ha Bais is found in Parshas Shoftim.
The verse says:Then the officer shall speak to the people, saying, "Who is the man who has built a house V'lo chanocho-and has not inaugurated it, Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man will inaugurate it.
" After we inaugurate the house, we intend to begin using it for certain shul activities.
The long term goal is to hold a user friendly minyan each and every Shabbos morning.
We expect that there will be a rotation of shul families through the minyan since no one wants to make running the user friendly minyan a full time job.
The expectation is that we would start by holding a user friendly minyan every month or perhaps every two weeks.
The level of participation by our guests will determine in large part how often we hold the user friendly minyan, since one of the basic requirements is having at least 10 Jewish males, of bar mitzvah age or older.
A Chanukas Habais is a joyous event espeically when it is combined with escorting a Sefer Torah.