Alan Dershowitz Lights Menorah on Miami’s Lincoln Rd.

It has been a very busy Chanukah on Lincoln Rd. in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, one of the hottest tourist destinations in South Florida. Every night of Chanukah there has been a grand Menorah lighting attended by very large crowds, drawing together Jews from around the globe.

Rabbi Zev Katz, the local Shliach, started with humble beginnings operating with a Mitzva Tank.  Some 15 years ago he created a fixed base, outgrowing his ‘Chabad on Wheels’ as a result of meeting Jews on Lincoln Rd. In time, with G-d’s help, it grew into a full-time Chabad House on Lincoln Rd.

On Sunday night, the 6th night of Chanukah, over 500 people participated in the lighting of the now-famous seashell menorah.

At the lighting, they were honored to have the world-famous law professor Alan Dershowitz in attendance. He lit the menorah, and told the story of how Rabbi Katz put a mezuzah on the door of his new condo near Lincoln Rd., and how in return he agreed to give one free speech at the Chabad House every winter.

Another well-known personality honored to light the Menorah was Mr. Brett Ratner – a movie director  and native Miami boy who went to a local Jewish day school as a child. He has been a friend and a supporter of Rabbi Katz for 13 years, after meeting him on his Mitzvah Tank.

At the Friday night Chanukah dinner hosted by Rabbi Katz, over 150 people came to hear Brett Ratner speak, along with guest speaker Rabbi Yitzchok Sufrin from London, UK. Brett gave an emotional and moving talk, whilst Rabbi Sufrin extrapolated a timely lesson from Chanukah.

The children too had their fair share of Chanukah fun, by having the opportunity to spin a giant dreidel made of 35,000 seashells, created by artist Roger Abramson and recently featured on international news.