‘Little Odessa’ Menorah Lit with Hundreds in Attendance
Hundreds gathered in ‘Little Odessa’s’ Brighton Beach Avenue for the lighting of the first candle on the Menorah that stands there year round.
Every day, thousands of passersby on Brighton Beach’s main thoroughfare, Brighton Beach Avenue, walk by a 29 foot tall permanent Menorah in front of Chase bank. An iconic landmark, the Menorah, which was installed by F.R.E.E. of Brighton Beach, proudly stands as an important part of the Brighton Beach landscape, recognizing the results of the Rebbe’s personal investment in assisting Jews who escaped to America from behind the Iron Curtain.
The annual F.R.E.E. public Menorah lighting has been arranged in the overwhelmingly Jewish area by Rabbi Hershel Okonov for over 25 years and has been ceremoniously lit on every night of Chanukah every year since its establishment. The popularity of the event, which regularly draws a crowd, stems from the significant symbolism Chanukah holds for Russian Jews to be free to publicly proclaim pride in their Judaism.
This year, on the first night of Chanukah, F.R.E.E. of Brighton Beach’s grand outdoor Menorah Lighting drew hundreds of families and children, along with many other curious onlookers, to see the permanent year-round symbol of Judaism finally lit. The architect of the beautiful oversize Menorah, Mr. Yakkov Fridman, was honored to light the Shamesh during the ceremony, while Mr. Sam Shpelfogel, a longtime friend and ardent supporter of F.R.E.E., was honored with lighting the first candle.
The grand lighting was followed by a performance by the popular Russian Jewish boys group M*Generation (a division of F.R.E.E.) who performed a medley of their most popular songs. Soon after, lively traditional Chanukah music played loudly and the overflow crowd broke into joyous dancing right on the main avenue.
The crowd enjoyed the Chanukah festivities and doughnuts were distributed to all. Rabbi Hershel Okonov and his sons, Rabbi Avremel and Rabbi Dovid Okonov, gave out Chanukah gelt and dreidels to the children. Young Chabad yeshiva students from Crown Heights came to help the local rabbis hand out Menorahs and introduce the crowd to Mitzvot that they can do.
The Menorah Lighting was just one part of F.R.E.E.’s extensive holiday programming, as they have planned Chanukah events for all ages. Earlier that day, the organization hosted a Chanukah Wonderland that drew over 100 kids, along with their parents.
F.R.E.E. will host the Menorah Lighting every night of Chanukah at 5:30 pm with the exception of Friday, when it will be lit before Shabbat and Motzei Shabbat, when the lighting will be at 7:15 pm.
