Ice Menorah In Manhattan Targeted By Vandals
by CrownHeights.info
It was an ice cold act of anti-Semitism, according to Rabbi Uriel Vigler of the Chabad Israel Center of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, as the reality that the ice sculpted Menorah placed on the streets by the Chabad House was purposefully targeted last Wednesday.
“In honor of Chanukah, we had a beautiful menorah-lighting and party for our community this week,” Rabbi Vigler said. “We invited the fire department to send parachutes of chocolate gelt down into the crowd of children, which is always a favorite. And we also hired a professional ice carver to create an intricate 5-foot menorah out of a giant block of ice.”
The participants at the event were able to watch him do the carving—a fascinating process—and then actually light it afterwards.
“We’ve been lighting the menorah every night since,” Vigler explained, “but last night, when I walked past it at 10pm, I discovered the menorah in pieces on the ground.”
“At first, I assumed it must have melted. After all, we knew it wouldn’t last forever, but we did hope it would hold up through all 8 days of the holiday,” he said. “When I looked more closely, however, I realized it had not melted at all. Aside from the frigid weather we’ve had all week, which certainly would’ve kept the menorah intact, it had clearly been hacked to pieces—a deliberate and malicious act by someone who didn’t like our menorah and what it represented.”
In a post on Facebook, Vigler showed the devastated Menorah lying in pieces on the ground with the caption “Someone was deeply bothered by our gorgeous Ice Menorah, but don’t worry the light will always dispel the darkness!”
Vigler looked for alternative explanations for the vandalism, even considering if a car or truck may have accidentally backed into it, but the damage to both sides indicated that that was not the case.
“Clearly, our menorah had deeply affected someone to the extent that they felt compelled to destroy it. What goes through the mind of such a person? A menorah represents light, purity, and holiness. What could lead someone to smash that? Where is the hatred coming from? Did the menorah awaken something in their soul?” he asked.
“Regardless, the message of Chanukah is more relevant than ever: No matter how much darkness surrounds us, light will always win. No matter how much they try to destroy us, we will prevail. In fact, the whole reason we light the candles after dark is to light up the world!”
