On the third night of Chanukah, December 23, the Jewish community of Green Bay, Wisconsin gathered to illuminate the winter night with the light of the Menorah. Joined by Mayor Jim Schmitt, Chabad of the Bay Area hosted its Annual Chanukah Menorah Lighting Celebration.
This past Wednesday and Thursday, hundreds of schoolchildren from schools across Queens enjoyed their visit to The Queens Chanukah Experience run by Rabbi Yerachmiel and Chanie Zalmanov of Chabad of Eastern Queens. As most schools will be closed Sunday and Monday for Chanukah vacation, the Chanukah Experience will be open to the public on Sunday and Monday.
On the second night of Chanukah, a parade was arranged for the community by the Shluchim of Yeshivas Menachem Mendel Lubavitch Monsey.
Newly elected Congressman Bob Turner (R-NY) joined the leadership of the Russian Jewish community in celebrating Chanuka at the event sponsored by Chabad Lubavitch of W. Brighton Beach – Manhattan Beach.
This past Wednesday, December 20th, Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam, and the Speaker of the House, Beth Harwell, participated in the lighting of the Menorah at the Tennessee State Capitol.
On the 26th of Kislev 5772, in the Jewish day school “Simcha” in Mariupol, a Ukrainian city on the coast of the Sea of Azov, held a Chanukah celebration. The atmosphere in the school was full of light, warmth and joy. The children put on a Chanukah show with song and dance, and all participated in lighting of menorah and enjoyment of Chanukah treats.
Bris Avrohom, an organization headquartered in Hillside, NJ, lights up the hearts and souls of the Russian Jewish community. For Russian Jews, lighting a menorah in public is a great source of pride and victory. In the former Soviet Union, Jews were unable to observe the primary mitzvah of Chanukah. In the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s, lighting a menorah that was visible from the street would land a Jew in jail, or worse. Jews from the former Soviet Union could not even imagine seeing a menorah lit in the office of a political dignitary.
Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino broke Boston Mayoral records, when he attend the Chabad Public Menorah in the Boston Common in the heart of Downtown Boston for the 18th time. The Mayor along with his staff were greeted by Rabbi Chaim Prus Head Shliach to Eastern Massachusetts, who began the public Menorah lighting ceremony in the Boston Common almost thirty years ago, in 1984.
With only a couple of weeks until Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary election, the entire nation has it’s eyes on the Hawkeye State, as the volatile polls show the coveted state is anyone’s grab. The state’s voters are courted day in, day out by Republican presidential hopefuls vying for their vote, but this week, Jewish Iowans took a break from all the hectic campaigning to celebrate the holiday of religious freedom.
Every year at this time, Rabbi Avraham Varnai and his 4th grade Cheder Lubavitch class at the Seymour J. Abrams Hebrew Day School face an interesting challenge: How are they going to top last year’s community-wide menorah project?
Am I the only one who knows a Lubavitch kid gone “their own way”?
This is not about why it happens, nor will I be offering a solution. I will tell you what made the Menorah in our home shine brighter than ever before.
As the holiday of Chanukah gets underway, public menorahs have begun popping up in major cities throughout the world. While some shluchim have no issue obtaining permission from their local government to erect these menorahs, it is not uncommon that acquiring this permit can involve a long and difficult legal battle. In this lecture, noted civil liberties lawyer Nathan Lewin discusses his involvement in fighting legal battles to allow menorahs to be lit in the public arena.
Volunteers rebuilt a 15 foot menorah in less than six hours after vandals destroyed Scotland’s biggest public ‘chanukiah’ in an antisemitic attack.
As Jewish families around the world prepare for the second of eight nights of Hanukkah, the Brooklyn Jewish Children’s Museum is giving children a hands-on approach to learning about the holiday.
For the 29th consecutive year (since 1982), Rabbi Raphael Tennenhaus and Chabad of South Broward conducted a Menorah lighting ceremony at City Hall in Hollywood, Florida. The Mayor, Mr. Peter Bober, was decked out in a hasidic black hat for the occasion.
Serbian President Boris Tadić joined the ceremonial lighting of the Chanukah candles at the Sukkat Shalom Belgrade Synagogue last night. President Tadić used the opportunity to spread a message that the Jewish festival reminds us of the importance to show respect and tolerance towards people of all backgrounds.
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