Hanukkah Menorah Festival of Lights shines in Amarillo again with Roving Rabbis
The “Roving Rabbis” were at Center Court of Westgate Mall to light up the area in a new way, as part of the Hanukkah Menorah, on Tuesday during the sixth night of the eight-day Festival of Lights. The beautiful ceremony is all about spreading light regardless of religion of affiliation. Hanukkah is a universal holiday with a beautiful message for all to “spread the light wherever you can,” according to spokesman Moshe Faygen.
“This is the second public Hanukkah menorahs in Amarillo,” said Mendel Rapoport, organizer of the local event. “The excitement about Hanukkah is truly amazing. People are preparing to celebrate with family and friends, filling their homes with the light of Hanukkah which is really beautiful to see.”
Though the crowd was not large, people began to gather and smile when the joyful music began to play. The young Jewish men and women were dancing and laughing and people stopped to see what the celebration was about. Those who watched were offered donuts and soft drinks and many video recorded the festivities. Faygen explained the ritual to those who were interested.
The seven Roving Rabbis are from Brooklyn, N.Y., and are traveling through Texas and New Mexico to spread the word that each individual has the unique power to illuminate the entire world. From Amarillo, the group will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. It is a proclamation of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of light over darkness and spirit over matter, which has always been a foundation in American cultural and religious life.
The young Rabbis, 20 years of age, are dedicated students, chosen for the rabbinical proficiency and people skills for the honor of assisting faraway communities, according to their press release. They said that they are traveling in two mini-vans across the area.
Rapoport told the story of the lighting of the menorah. “The miracle of Hanukkah is that they (the Jews) found one jug of oil in the temple after the Greeks defiled it, and tried to destroy the entire Jewish nation. But of course, we won with God’s help, and we found the jug of oil to light the menorah in the Temple. The jug of oil only had enough to last one day but what became a Hanukkah miracle happened and it lasted eight days. From that experience, we created the holiday of Hanukkah and commemorated the fact that we fought the war and won and rededicated the Temple after the Greeks defiled it. There are eight candles in the Jewish candelabrum, known as menorah and one more is lighted every night until all eight are burning.”
The program was conceived by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson in 1943 and has touched literally millions of Jews. “While classes and communal evenings go a long way in educating people, it is the conversations we have one-on-one that have the greatest impact, said Rabbi Moshe.
“People who hear we’re in town approach us seeking advice on how to maintain or bolster their Jewish identity, especially where the Jewish infrastructure is small.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Menorah festival of lights shines in Amarillo
