Light On A Snowy Night

PORTLAND, ME — It’s not a sight you see very often: a Hasidic rabbi, held aloft by a Portland Fire Department aerial bucket, struggling against near-blizzard conditions to light an oil lamp on a giant menorah.

When, at last, the flame was lit Sunday, stalwart children sang and a round of applause erupted from the small gathering for the 22nd annual lighting of the Grand Hannukah Menorah at Portland City Hall.

Sunday night marked the start of the Jewish festival of lights, a celebration of an ancient battle for religious freedom but one which has contemporary symbolism for people of all faiths, said Rabbi Moshe Wilansky.

“Hannukah is a universal message for everybody, Jews and non-Jews alike,” said Wilansky, once the evening’s lighting ceremony was complete.

The celebration recognizes the victory of a small band of Jewish rebels, the Maccabees, over the powerful Seleucid Kingdom of what was then Syria, which had sought to repress the Jews ability to practice their religion.

The story of a small group prevailing over long odds is one that many people can relate to, Wilansky said.

Lighting progressively more of the eight flames each day is meant to symbolize the goal of doing more and more in the way of good deeds, he said, another healthy aspiration.

In the Jewish faith, the lighting of the menorah is a ceremony that marks an event more than 2,000 years ago when, after the Maccabees had retaken the temple in Jerusalem, they sought to re-dedicate it by lighting a menorah. The temple had been defiled, and all its special oil necessary for the dedication had been desecrated except for one container, good for one night’s flame. But the flame burned for seven more days, according to tradition.

Wilansky said he has been present for every one of the previous 21 lighting ceremonies at City Hall and this one was the snowiest. Getting the special candle, made with some 15 wicks, lit in the first place was a challenge and then transferring the flame to the lamps before it went out was no easy feat, but it was done.

In good weather, the event draws large crowds. As it was, the celebration planned for the State of Maine room in City Hall was scaled back when it became apparent just a handful of people were going to brave the storm. The small band of onlookers did enjoy traditional Jewish foods: potato pancakes with whitefish and salmon spreads, a pasta dish called kugel with applesauce, and donuts.