Menorah lighting at Depot Park one of 15,000 worldwide

Chabad of the Flathead Valley will ignite a public 9-foot Hanukkah menorah erected at Depot Park in Whitefish at 4:45 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, the first night of the eight-day holiday. The ceremony will be followed by a community-wide celebration. Organized by Chabad Rabbi Shneur Wolf, the event will feature Whitefish Mayor John Muhlfeld.

“The menorah serves as a symbol of Whitefish’s dedication to preserve and encourage the right and liberty of all its citizens to worship G-d freely, openly, and with pride,” Wolf said. “This is true especially in America, a nation that was founded upon and vigorously protects the right of every person to practice his or her religion free from restraint and persecution.”

The menorah lighting is part of the worldwide Hanukkah campaign, an initiative launched by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson in 1973. The campaign highlights and encourages the central theme of the holiday — publicizing the story of Hanukkah.

“The message of Hanukkah is the message of light,” Wolf said. “The nature of light is that it is always victorious over darkness. A small amount of light dispels a lot of darkness. Another act of goodness and kindness, another act of light, can make all the difference.”

The unprecedented public display of Hanukkah has become a staple of Jewish cultural and religious life, altering the American practice and awareness of the festival. Whitefish’s menorah is one of more than 15,000 large public menorahs sponsored by Chabad in more than 100 countries around the world, including in front of landmarks such as the White House, the Eiffel Tower, and the Kremlin, helping children and adults of all walks of life discover and enjoy the holiday message

For more information about Hanukkah and a local schedule of events visit JewishFlathead.com/Hanukkah.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins this year on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 22, and concludes the evening of Monday, Dec. 30. It recalls the victory of a militarily weak Jewish people who defeated the Syrian Greeks who had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and prohibit religious freedom. They also desecrated and defiled the Temple and the oils prepared for the lighting of the menorah, which was part of the daily service. Upon recapturing the Temple only one jar of undefiled oil was found, enough to burn only one day, but it lasted miraculously for eight. In commemoration, Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabrum known as a menorah. Today, people of all faiths consider the holiday a symbol and message of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of spirit over matter, of light over darkness.