Traveling Rabbis celebrate spreading of light with 'Roving Rabbis' Hanukkah Menorah lighting

Brianna Maestas, Amarillo Globe-News
·3 min read

The “Roving Rabbis” will travel through Amarillo this week, spreading their message of sharing and spreading light with the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah. The event will be the evening of Dec. 22 at Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40 to mark the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature live music including classical Hanukkah songs, hot latkes, a traditional Hanukkah snack, drinks, activities and more. During the ceremony complimentary Hanukkah menorahs and candles will also be distributed for participants to light at home.

"This initiative is an 80-year initiative - not only is this the first time that this initiative has been introduced to the south but it is also the first time that something like this will be done in Amarillo. This is a first time spreading our message to this magnitude and the first time that it has ever been done like this in the southwest. We are excited to come to Amarillo," said Shmuly Wudowsky, leader of the “Roving Rabbis.”

"Hanukkah is a global holiday celebrated across the world not only for those who are Jewish, it is a universal holiday with a very powerful message. The message is all about overcoming our inner struggles no matter how big or small they are," Wudowsky added.

“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.
“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.
“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.
“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.

Wudowsky shared that the story of Hanukkah began thousands of years ago when the Greeks were oppressing the Jews in Israel for openly practicing their religion. To combat their oppression, many Jews banded together and overcame the Greek army, afterwards they claimed the holy temple of the Greeks and went to light the candelabra but found that there was only enough oil to burn for one day in the Temple. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days. To this day the annual lighting the Hanukkah Menorah commemorates this miracle.

As a part of the ceremony, the 9-foot-tall Menorah will be lit outdoors after sunset to honor the original lighting that created the tradition and convey the ceremony's message that "a little light can dispel a whole lot of darkness." The Menorah will be lit facing the street representing the warmth and light to be shared throughout the community.

This event will be the first public Hanukkah celebrations in Westgate Mall, according to Wudowsky. There is expected to be a large number of participants joining the public Menorah lighting.

The Roving Rabbis' public Hanukkah activities have become a part of this global initiative since its launching of the Hanukkah awareness campaign in 1973 by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

Over the years, the Rebbe’s campaign has brought Hanukkah back into the general population and has since increased the awareness and practice of the festival, transforming what some had mistakenly assumed to be “a minor holiday” into a festival that signifies the public proclamation of the triumph of freedom over oppression, of light over darkness which has always been a foundation in American cultural and religious life.

“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.
“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.
“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.
“Roving Rabbis” invite the community to spread light and witness the lighting of a giant 9-foot Hanukkah Menorah held in the Westgate Mall Center Court located at 7701 Interstate 40, on Dec. 22, the 5th night of the eight-day Festival of Lights.

Throughout the eight days the group, consisting of 5 Rabbinical Students, is spreading the message of hope and life through Giant Menorah lightings and meaningful Jewish encounters while traveling through three states, nine cities and countless Jewish homes, including stops in St. George, UT; Cedar City, UT; Mountain Village, CO' Telluride, CO; Crested Butte, CO; Amarillo, TX; San Angelo TX; Abilene, TX and more. The five traveling students consist of Rabbis Shmuly Wudowsky, Mendy Hirsch, Bentzi Wolowik, Moishe Rosenfeld, Mendel Spivak, and Yossi Zaltzman.

"The message of Hanukkah and the message that we are sharing is that you are bigger than any of your struggles and you have the power to overcome them, the second message is all about spreading light in the darkest times, we are here to do that literally and metaphorically for everyone," said Wudowsky.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Roving Rabbis spread light in Amarillo with Hanukkah Menorah lighting