By Keith Larson
December 5, 2012
"...The Chabad of Wilmington has been observing the Jewish holiday of Chanukah by displaying a large menorah downtown.
On Dec. 8, a 9-foot tall menorah will be erected downtown proceeded by a procession of Jewish music, the consumption of jelly donuts and the lighting of the menorah. The menorah cannot be lit by flame because of a downtown Wilmington ordinance, so the lights will be electric. For an actual Chanukah lighting to occur, candles must be lit by flame, which means the public display will represent a symbolic lighting.
Rabbi Moshe Lieblich, who created the event and will lead the celebration, said, “It gives the Jewish community a lot of pride, considering the small amount of us in the greater Wilmington area. It shows the greater message of what Chanukah represents, which is about light overcoming darkness and good overcoming evil. And the idea of freedom of religion and how you should be able to choose to practice whatever religion you choose.”
Like the one planned for Wilmington, public menorah lightings will occur all over the world during the festival of lights, which lasts from Dec. 8 to Dec. 16. The public lightings were an initiative under the Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1987. One of the purposes of the public menorah lightings is to demonstrate the meaning and story of Chanukah to everyone."...
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