'Light will prevail:' Nashville celebrates Hanukkah with annual menorah lighting ceremony

Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel light a menorah to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah at the downtown Public Square on Monday, November 29, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel light a menorah to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah at the downtown Public Square on Monday, November 29, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.

Nashville elected officials and Jewish leaders sought to send a message of unity and peace at the city's menorah lighting ceremony on Monday at Public Square Park.

"Hanukkah is also the universal message that ultimately, good and light will prevail over evil. Freedom over oppression and light over darkness," Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel, who leads Chabad of Nashville, said at the event.

Tiechtel was joined at the podium by Mayor John Cooper, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman, Rabbi Michael Shulman from The Temple, and Andy May, president of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

Hanukkah commemorates the recovery of Jerusalem from Greek rulers in second century B.C.E. and rededication of the Holy Temple. The eight-day holiday began Sunday evening and lasts until Monday evening. Another light on the menorah is lit each night of the holiday.

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The city first partnered with the Jewish community for the menorah lighting event 18 years ago. Tiechtel noted the significance of the year because 18 in Hebrew is "chai," which is the same Hebrew word for "life."

"For 18 years we have come together to remember the endurance and the triumph of the Jewish people and to affirm the difference that faith makes in all of our lives," Cooper said at the event.

With the help of a construction lift, Cooper and Tiechtel hovered above the menorah and lit the candle, which rests higher in the middle, and the two lights, the candles on the side that rest lower. Tiechtel sang in Hebrew as Cooper lit the menorah.

"We live in a time of darkness that only with the light, whether it be the light of equality, understanding, knowledge and compassion can we fix a nation truly in need of help," Shulman said at the event. "The hate that surrounds all of, unfortunately, daily, cannot be driven out with more hate. Only love can end that hate."

Residents celebrate the first day of Hanukkah at a menorah lighting ceremony at the downtown Public Square on Monday, November 29, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.
Residents celebrate the first day of Hanukkah at a menorah lighting ceremony at the downtown Public Square on Monday, November 29, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.

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There are other community events celebrating Hanukkah throughout the rest of the week, according to the Jewish Federation's community calendar. The events are:

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville celebrates Hanukkah 2021 with menorah lighting ceremony