LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Several free public menorah lighting ceremonies are slated for Sunday in Los Angeles County to mark the beginning of Hanukkah, the eight-day commemoration of Judaism of the rededication of the temple that marked the Maccabees’ victory over a greater Syrian Army followed.
The Boyle Heights Public Community Menorah Lighting & Chanukkah Celebration begins with music at 4 p.m. on the steps of Breed Street Shul. The ceremony begins at 4:15 p.m. and the menorah is said to be lit at 4:45 p.m. Jelly donuts and latkes will be available from 4: 45-5: 15pm
What you need to know
- Several free public menorah lighting ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday in Los Angeles County to mark the start of Hanukkah
- The Boyle Heights Public Community Menorah Lighting & Chanukkah Celebration begins with music at 4 p.m. on the steps of Breed Street Shul
- MEP Miguel Santiago will speak at the ceremony
- Boyle Heights was the largest Jewish community west of the Mississippi from 1910 to 1950, with approximately 75,000 Yiddish-speaking Eastern European immigrants
MEP Miguel Santiago is due to speak at the ceremony. Santiago, D-Los Angeles added a provision to the 2021-22 state budget to provide $ 14.9 million in funding to renovate buildings on the Breed Street Shul property.
Government funding will maintain and rehabilitate the synagogue’s very fragile unreinforced brick building, constructed in 1923, including completing a seismic renovation, restoring historic surfaces, complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and upgrading infrastructure.
The long-term plan is to convert the buildings on the nearly half-acre property into a shared workspace for nonprofits that meet the neighborhood’s existing and emerging needs for social services, a performance and event space for cultural and arts programs, and a Exhibition and gallery space with an emphasis on Boyle Heights’ unique heritage as a port of entry for many different groups of immigrants.
Alderman Kevin de Leon, whose district includes Boyle Heights, the Israeli Consul General Hillel Newman, Steven Sass, CEO of the Breed Street Shul Project, and Rabbi Jason Rosner will attend the Hanukkah service with readings and songs with Santiago.
The celebration is organized by David Silvas, Vice President of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council.
Another Hanukkah event will take place next Sunday in Boyle Heights, “Chanukah on the Eastside,” 7-10.30pm at Boyle Heights History Studios and Tours, 2026 E. 1st Street. It is organized by Boyle Heights Chavurah, which calls itself the East Los Angeles Jewish base community.
Boyle Heights, east of downtown, was the largest Jewish community west of the Mississippi from 1910 to 1950, with approximately 75,000 Yiddish-speaking Eastern European immigrants living side by side with neighbors of diverse origins and cultures.
The parish was comprised of about 30 synagogues, including the Talmud Torah Congregation commonly known as the Breed Street Shul, nicknamed “The Queen of the Shul” due to the towering, visually stunning Byzantine Revival design of its main building.
After World War II, the Los Angeles Jewish community moved west and Boyle Heights became a predominantly Latino community.
The main Breed Street Shul building, built in 1923, suffered neglect, vandalism and abandonment from the 1980s and was closed after being damaged by the 1987 Whittier earthquake. Services were held in the original building of the 1915 synagogue until 1996.
The main building was saved from demolition thanks to the emergency stabilization work, which was funded with $ 1.3 million in public and private funds and more than $ 500,000 in contributions in kind.
Other free public menorah lighting ceremonies scheduled for Sunday include:
- The 33rd Annual Palisades Unity Menorah Lighting takes place from 5pm to 6.30pm in front of the Bay Theater at 1035 N. Swarthmore Ave. Emmy winner Eugene Levy, Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades, will attend.
- The “Grand Chanukah Extravaganza” takes place from 4pm to 6pm in the 2nd and PCH Shopping Center in Long Beach. Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia will speak immediately after the lighting. Entertainment includes a three-piece band and a stilt walker.
- A “Chanukah Gelt Drop & Public Menorah Lighting” is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm at the Platform Shopping Center in Culver City, with chocolate gel coins being dropped from a fire truck. There will also be free donuts and latkes and live music and;
- There will be a large menorah lighting from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway.
After the Jews started the Hellenistic Syrian forces of Antiochus IV in 165 BC from his father, the high priest Mattathias.
According to the Hanukkah story, Maccabees and his soldiers wanted to light the ceremonial lamp of the temple with ritually pure olive oil as part of their dedication, but found only enough oil to burn for a day. However, the oil burned for eight days, which was considered a miracle.
Hanukkah – which means “dedication” in Hebrew – is observed around the world by lighting candles in a special menorah called a Hanukkah at sunset each day for eight days, with an additional candle added each day.
The reason for the lights is to help passers-by see them and be reminded of the miracle of the holiday.
Other Hanukkah traditions include spinning a dreidel, a four-sided top that is partly reminiscent of a game that Jews believed to have played under Greek rule to camouflage their study of the Torah, and eating oil-fried foods such as latkes, pancakes from grated raw material potatoes and jelly donuts.
Children receive Hanukkah gel (the Yiddish word for money) from their parents and grandparents. The tradition arose from the fact that Polish Jews in the 17th
In the United States, the practice of giving Christmas presents to children and others has evolved.
Unlike the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, or Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, believing Jews are allowed to work and go to school during Hanukkah, the only Jewish holiday commemorating a military victory.
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