Nine-Foot Menorah Kicks Off Afternoon Hanukkah Festival
A 9-foot menorah, lots of food and soft rock with a Hebrew theme will be just some of the fare at the Chabad Jewish Community Center’s sixth annual Hanukkah Festival today.
More than 700 people are expected to attend the event, slated to begin around 2:30 p.m. on the steps of the Riverside Historic Courthouse, 4050 Main St.
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Expected guests include Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco, Sheriff Stan Sniff, Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge and council members from Corona, Moreno Valley and Riverside, according to Rabbi Shmeul Fuss.
The Hasidic rock group 8th Day Band will be providing musical entertainment into the evening, when the traditional lighting of the menorah will take place, Fuss said.
According to Fuss, the ceremony will be different from previous years, with the emphasis on children, who will light their own hand-held menorahs as the rabbi lights a 9-foot custom-made copper menorah.
“We all know Hanukkah is all about light, optimism and hope, even in the face of darkness,” Fuss told City News Service. “We all know there is darkness in the world, especially in these challenging times.
“But one candle can light up a whole room. One act of kindness can change a life. Rather than curse the darkness, light a candle, and know it will spread over the city, the state and the greatest country in the world.”
Vendors will be on hand, selling “Judaica,” or Hanukkah-themed gifts, and there will be a variety of treats, including potato latkes and matzo ball soup, the rabbi said.
The eight days of Hanukkah commemorate the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt, during which a small band of Jews beat back Syrian occupiers, in the second century B.C.
Four menorah candles will be lit at sunset to signify the beginning of the fourth day of Hanukkah.
