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Chabad’s Guerrilla Warfare in S. Monica after Ban

Recently, S. Monica, California has been at the forefront of the secularist war against the public commemoration of religious holidays. This affected all holiday displays including Menorahs. But Chabad of S. Monica did not yield – setting up portable Menorahs for parks and on pickup trucks for other public lightings

“Normally we set them up and we left them there,” Levitansky, Chabad’s spiritual leader, said of the menorahs, which he said will take “four or five” people to lift. But as a result of a ban passed by Santa Monica City Council last June outlawing any private unattended displays on city-owned property, all menorahs being lit in public spaces will have to be removed each night.

“If you have to deal with legal issues, you deal with them,” Levitansky said in an interview on Dec. 3. “They’ve banned us from having nonattended displays in the park, but if they’re attended, you can have them there. That’s our plan.”

One faith blog reffered to Chabad’s activities quite positively:

More cheerful has been the response of the Jewish movement Chabad, who have demonstrated great ingenuity in displaying their menorahs on a hit and run basis. Although unattended permanent displays are not permitted, there seems to be nothing wrong with temporary ad hoc symbols. Politely and peacefully, Chabad’s guerrillas transport their menorahs in pickup trucks, set them up to light in various public places, while groups of supporters remain in attendance as long as needed.

It’s a pleasure to see the menorahs, with all the effort and devotion that goes into making them available to public view.

For present purposes though, I leave the last word to Judaism, and we should recognize the clear and present danger posed by Chabad’s activities. They stand a real risk of spreading a blessing through the whole city, and if that happened, then where would we all be?

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9 Comments

  • Ironic

    Ironic that the secularists focus on restricting public displays of religion, rather than on changing the name of that place to get rid of the S. word in the name that we are abbreviating.

  • Sunny Russia

    This sounds like communist Russia. Seriously, no display of religion and Chabad will do what it takes no matter what the authorities say. The Rebbe spoke many times how according to Russian constituion children are allowed to be educated in their religion. American constition I am presume is even more lenient.

  • Moshe Zuch mir

    Rabbi Yisrael is the man!!! he is one of the main people behind all these Menorahs.

    Did you know? S. Monica is the city with the most public menorahs lit with real fire nightly?

  • Andrea Schonberger

    I know everyone is going to come down on me but I think the menorah parades are a little silly–it’s like putting reindeer ears on your dog. Very kitschy and has nothing to do with the mitzvah of lighting the menorah.

  • bs d

    bs”d

    to #6-

    1)i personally gave out over 20 menoras to people that came out to see it, thats besides the other 20+ people that were giving out.

    2) persumei nissa is the main part of the mitzvah, and the parade certainly is.

  • Dedicated to my dear friend D

    To #6

    I personally know a staunch religious Lubavitcher married and raising children in the study and observance of Torah and Miztzos…

    While living in a mid-western city with a strong Jewish community, it was a public menorah that called him back to Judaism.

    It is worth 600,000 public menorahs to attract one soul to Hashem’s Torah.