Manhasset residents will gather on Wednesday, Dec. 5, until 5:30 p.m. to join in Manhasset’s annual Menorah Lighting and Hanukkah Celebration. Town officials, Representatives of the Northwell Health and Rabbi Mendel Paltiel will ignite a 9ft Hanukkah menorah erected on the Town Hall lawn, followed by a community-wide celebration.
The event, hosted by the Town of North Hempstead and the Chabad of Manhasset, will take place at 4:30 PM on the 4th night of the eight-day holiday, a supersized menorah will be lit. Following the menorah lighting ceremony, hundreds will participate in dancing, singing and eating with live music, hot latkes, dreidels, donuts, coffee, provided by Starbucks, and more. A special Menorah Ambulance will be present providing some holiday health tips, provided by the Northwell Health.
The event is cosponsored by North Shore University Hospital of Northwell Health, King Kullen Supermarket, Showcase Kitchens and Karen Sabag New York.
The purpose of this event is to bring the entire Manhasset Community together for Chanukah, said Rabbi Mendel Paltiel, co-director at Chabad of Manhasset
“The message of the Hanukkah Menorah is the message of light,” added Rabbi Mendel Paltiel. “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.”
For more information about Hanukkah and a local schedule of events visit www.facebook.com/chabadmanhasset/.
ABOUT HANUKKAH Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, begins this year on the evening of Sunday, December 2 and concludes the evening of Monday, December 10. 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. Additional information about the Hanukkah holiday is available at www.chabad.org/ Hanukkah.
Chabad of Manhasset offers Jewish education, outreach and social service programming for families and individuals of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations. For more information, contact Rabbi & Mrs. Mendel Paltiel Co-directors, Chabad of Manhasset, at mendel@chabadpw.org or visit www.facebook.com/chabadmanhasset/.
