As an adolescent, his days consisted of going to school, doing homework and doing chores on his stepfather’s farm. He planned to follow the tradition begun by his three brothers, including his twin, of joining the Navy after graduating from high school, but was denied due to having hypertension. Therefore, he attended Corning Community College for two years before transferring to Fredonia State in 1973. While at SUNY Fredonia, he attended a local church and met his future wife, Wendy Rose.

The couple lived in an apartment in Dunkirk after their marriage. Mr. O’Malley worked at Red Wing Company and his wife at Brooks Hospital as an LPN. The apartment became too crowded after their three children, Marisa, Daniel and Lauren, came along, necessitating the purchase of a house in Brocton.

Due to Wendy’s frustration with being considered “just an LPN,” she made the decision to further her education by attending Gannon University as a non-traditional Physician Assistant student, and graduated cum laude in 2000. After graduation, she worked for various practices throughout Chautauqua County and was so highly respected that some patients followed her whenever she changed employers. Her husband was also doing well as a Computer Programmer/Analyst. They purchased a “grand” house in Jamestown.

“Life seemed good – at least until 2008 hit,” O’Malley said. “Then, in rapid succession: Wendy’s widowed mother passed away; my twin brother died suddenly of a massive heart attack; and Wendy was tragically diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage four breast cancer.”

Latkes are commonly eaten during Chanukah.

In spite of this very difficult news, Wendy took the “one day at a time” attitude.

“Still, in this bleakest of times, there was one positive development: we discovered we both had some Jewish heritage,” says O’Malley. “We decided to explore the roots of our Christian faith, and to discover the actual truth of the Word of God. We found a Jewish congregation in Erie that was Torah observant, but which also held to the New Covenant message.”

They learned Biblical Hebrew, studied the Word of God intensely and “endeavored to walk even as He walked.”

“What we gained over the years greatly exceeded our expectations,” he exclaims.

Mrs. O’Malley’s course of oncology treatment consisted of countless chemotherapy sessions, radiation treatments and surgeries. She endured this for a total of 13 years. The treatment and medical procedures lengthened her life, but took a toll on her body. In December 2019 she had a heart attack and was airlifted to Erie to have a stent successfully implanted into a coronary artery. She actually died a year later after suffering pulmonary arrest, but was miraculously revived after six minutes, with no lasting ill effects. On July 31, 2021, while in hospice care, Wendy O’Malley passed away with her oldest daughter and her husband by her side.

A Chanukiah is a menorah that has an elevated central light with four branched lights on either side.

“I continue to walk the path that Wendy and I started together,” says the widower.

Since that time, the Jewish congregation where the couple had attended has closed down, but O’Malley practices what he learned. He teaches Bible studies to Christian groups on the older scriptures while trying to make their ancient truths meaningful for today and is sometimes asked to speak to larger audiences with the most recent being to a group of 80 Men of Integrity.

“I sometimes joke and say that I was born 2,000 years too late, as if I were a First Century Jewish Christian living in the 21st century,” he says with a smile. “Regardless, my role today seems to be to encourage and challenge those seeking the truth of the Word of God. I will endeavor to fulfill my role as the Lord leads.”

The Jewish holiday, Chanukah, sometimes called the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day celebration commemorating the re-dedication of the Second Temple. In John 10:22, it is referred to as the Feast of Dedication, an event Jesus attended. This holiday’s origin began after Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of the Syrian kingdom, desecrated the Temple circa 167 BC. The king attempted to destroy all of the sacred olive oil for the menorah, but one earthen vessel of oil survived. Though its volume was sufficient to provide light for one day, it miraculously lasted eight days.

Jews worldwide celebrate the holiday by lighting the Chanukiah, a menorah consisting of an elevated central light and having four branched lights on either side. The central light of the Chanukiah is called the shamash (or servant) light, and is always lit first after blessings are read aloud. On the first night, this flame ignites the rightmost light. On the second night, the rightmost is lit, but after the one to its immediate left is lit. A lighting pattern continues each night, where a new light to the left of the previous night is lit before each one to its right. On the eighth night all the lights are lit, giving the Chanukiah its peak brilliance.

Two loaves of Challah bread is made on Fridays before Shabbat, the Jewish Day of Rest, which takes place from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.

Fried foods are eaten as reminders of the miracle of the oil during the festive occasion of Chanukah. Typical meals include sufganiyot, which are fried, jelly-filled doughnuts and fried potato pancakes called latkes. A game involving a dreidel, a spinning top with four sides, is usually played, where players win or lose gold foil-covered chocolate coins called gelt. The player who acquires all of coins is the winner.

The question persists: Why did that oil last eight days? What could it possibly mean? A common answer is that it would take eight days to harvest olives and to refine their oil. This explanation raises questions, however, as winter is hardly the best time to process olive oil. Searching for a deeper meaning, our attention turns to the significance of the number eight and the structure of the

Chanukiah. Here we discover that this Chanukah miracle holds a mystery and a promise.

Biblical scholars opine that eight, the Hebrew letter chet, stands for Life and transcendence. The servant light on the Chanukiah seems indicative of the Messiah, the Light of the World. Early writers suggest that the letters in the word Machiach (Messiah) are an acronym for the phrase, “we light throughout the eight days of Chanukah.” John 4:4 reads, “In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light

of men.” This servant light, being raised above the rest, appears consistent with Matthew 23:11.

Once Tim O’Malley and his late wife discovered their Jewish heritage, they dug in to learn and understand as much as possible about it. Submitted photos

Moreover, the branched Chanukiah reminds believers of John Chapter 15, the True Vine and the branches. And transcendence? Genesis records six days of Creation and a day of rest, the Sabbath Day. Judaism believes in a coming eighth day, an everlasting day called HaOlam Haba (the World To Come), in which there will be no more darkness. In Revelation chapter 21, John saw a new heaven and

a new earth, in which the Lamb is the Light. In that eternal day: “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43a) Are not the Lamb and the righteous in that eighth day like a Chanukah menorah at peak brilliance?

Before her passing, Wendy baked Challah each Friday morning. She also made Latkes and other fried food for Chanukah. Her husband continues the Friday tradition of baking Challah. The traditional egg bread is often eaten on major Jewish holidays, but can also be eaten throughout the year. It can be made in various shapes and is often braided. The design and number of braids is symbolic of different things.

Two years ago, Mr. O’Malley tried his hand at Sufaniyot. He shares that recipe, Challah and Latkes below.

I would like to thank Tim O’Malley for his assistance with this article.

CHALLAH – KOSHER-STYLE BRAIDED BREAD (MAKES TWO LOAVES)

For proofing yeast mixture:

½ c warm water

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp honey

3 tsp yeast (not Quick-Rising)

For the two loaves:

½ c warm water

½ c vegetable oil

¼ c sugar

1 T honey

2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

4 c flour

Other:

2 T sesame seeds

1 bread making machine (for kneading dough)

1 sheet of parchment paper

1 large baking sheet

1 clean towel

Warm the kitchen to at least 70 degrees. Combine the proofing yeast mixture ingredients into a large measuring cup, and set aside. Combine water, oil, sugar, honey and salt into the bread machine bucket. Separate two eggs. Set the yolks aside, and pour the whites into the bucket, then add four cups of flour. After the yeast has proofed (lots of foam), pour into the bucket. Put the bucket into the bread machine, and set it on the 90-minute dough cycle.

After the cycle is done, dust countertop with flour. Place the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Dump the dough on the countertop and divide it into 12 equal parts. Roll each part into a 12-inch strand like a breadstick, then braid six together for each of the two loaves. Shape and place the loaves onto the parchment sheet, cover with a towel and let rise for up to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. After dough has risen, add a tablespoon of water to the yolks. Blend and strain to remove any globs. Paint the two loaves of dough with the yolk wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place pans in the oven and bake for 28 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

SUFGANIYOT – FRIED, JAM-FILLED DOUGHNUTS (MAKES A DOZEN)

For the dough:

2 T sugar

16 oz vanilla yogurt

2½ c self-rising flour

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 T vegetable oil

1 tsp orange zest

For coating, frying and filling:

1 c powdered sugar

1 deep fryer

vegetable oil (2″ deep in fryer)

1 c seedless raspberry jam

Heat oil in a fryer to a high temperature. Knead the dough ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel for about 20 minutes. Add dough to fryer in scoops of about a rounded tablespoon each. Fry each for about two minutes on each side, or until golden. Remove and cool on paper towels. Fill each doughnut with jam. Roll in powdered sugar.

LATKES – FRIED POTATO PANCAKES (ABOUT 7 SERVINGS OF 3 EACH)

1 6 oz box of kosher potato pancake mix

2 large eggs

2¼ c cold water

For frying and garnish:

vegetable oil (1/8 ” deep in pan)

1 large frying pan

1 T chopped chives

3 c applesauce

Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Add water and mix well. Add pancake mix and stir until combined. Let set for 10 minutes to allow batter to thicken. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter into hot oil. Brown each side, turning until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Garnish with chives. Serve with applesauce.