Lighting the Menorah for the first day of Hanukkah

Temple Beth Shalom held its annual Menorah lighting party on the first day of Hanukkah Sunday, Dec. 6.

By Anastasia Pagello
| 7:16 p.m. December 6, 2015

This Menorah was originally from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was crafted over 100-years-ago. Photos by Anastasia Pagello

Ludmilla Kagan lights her Menorah which she recently received as a gift from a friend in Israel.

This Judaic dancing Menorah belongs to Edna Alex, who chose the piece from her experiences dancing in Puerto Rico.

Flo Mintz passed along her beloved Menorah to her granddaughter twenty years ago, and has been using this one ever since.

Elaine Camerin brought the first Menorah she had ever owned which she bought in 1965.

Robyn Holbrook presented Doreen Gindin's Menorah, which was left to Doreen from a family friend.

Barry Altman's Menorah was passed down to him through two generations and is over 100-years-old. The base of the Menorah is a wooden music box.

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Rabbi Zev Sonnenstein with his first Menorah, which was sent to him from his aunt in Israel, the day his parents adopted him.

The Temple Beth Shalom welcomes the entire community every year to light the Menorah, which signifies the first day of Hanukkah. For each Menorah lighting party, volunteers prepare traditional foods, such as Latka served with applesauce and sour cream.

Each guest was asked to bring their families Menorah to share its history. The idea to share Menorah stories came about when Rabbi Zev Sonnenstein encountered a family with an inspirational story behind their Menorah. “One of my former congregants smuggled their Menorah out of Germany during WWII,” Rabbi Zev explained. “It was the only piece of their heritage they managed to get out of the country. The story made such an impression on me, it made me want to hear everyone else’s story.”

“Hanukkah is about celebrating the miracle of light and standing together as a community, instead of being divided.” –Temple Beth Shalom Rabbi Zev Sonnenstein

Each guest who brought a Menorah was given an opportunity to share its history.

“This Menorah belonged to my grandpa, who was a great artist,” Hayden Barron, age 8, shared. “He passed away, but he used to paint landscapes.” The Menorah was made to look like an artist’s easel.

“This was the first Menorah I ever bought,” Elaine Camerin said. “I got it in 1965, which makes it 50-years-old.”