Wheeling's Chabad to light up Town Center with community Hanukkah celebration
This Hanukkah, Wheeling is seeing a surge in public displays of the holiday and Jewish identity.
On Sunday, Dec. 29, Chabad of Wheeling will light a large, public Menorah erected at Town Center, 75 W. Dundee Road, at 4 p.m. The community will then be invited for indoor festivities in room 107-108 at the Wheeling Park District, 100 Community Blvd.
“At this fraught time for the Jewish community, with war in Israel and American Jews facing a major rise in antisemitism, this year we are doing more to celebrate Hanukkah with joy and Jewish pride,” said Rabbi Mendel Shmotkin. “The Menorah and Hanukkah represent freedom of the human spirit, freedom from tyranny and oppression, and of the victory of good over evil.”
The ceremony will feature a Grand Public Menorah Lighting, camaraderie, traditional Hanukkah delicacies and activities for children including doughnut making.
Throughout the state of Illinois, Chabad-Lubavitch will be presenting dozens of Hanukkah events and celebrations, including public menorah lightings, cartop menorah parades, community gatherings, “Hanukkah Wonderlands” and more.
This year’s celebrations carry added significance as they mark 50 years since the first public menorah which was lit at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia in 1974. The public menorah was lit after the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, launched the worldwide Hanukkah campaign in 1973 to build awareness and promote observance of Hanukkah.
Today, public menorahs and Hanukkah displays have become a staple of Jewish cultural and American public life, forever altering the American practice and perception of the festival.
This year’s Hanukkah campaign will be one of unprecedented light and joy, seeing Chabad reach more than 8 million Jews in more than 100 countries. Wheeling’s menorah is one of over 15,000 large public menorahs throughout the world, including notable menorahs in front of the White House, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the St. Louis Arch, the Great Wall of China, and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.
“Celebrating Hanukkah is a potent point of light, Jewish pride and confidence for American Jews in the fight against darkness and antisemitism,” added Rabbi Mendel Shmotkin. “The celebration of Hanukkah underscores the G-d endowed liberty that is at the heart of what America represents.”
RSVP at wheelingchabad.com/chanukah.
About Hanukkah
Hanukkah, the eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 25, and concludes on Thursday, Jan. 2, at nightfall. It recalls the victory of the militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people, who defeated the Syrian-Greeks who had sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life and practice, desecrating the Holy Temple and the oil prepared for the daily lighting of the menorah.
Upon recapturing the Temple, only one jar of undefiled oil — enough to burn for one day — was found, but it lasted miraculously for eight days. In commemoration, Jews light an eight-branched candelabrum known as a Menorah, adding another candle each night. The holiday carries a universal message of the triumph of freedom over oppression and light over darkness. Additional information about the Hanukkah holiday is available at Chabad.org/Hanukkah.
About Chabad of Wheeling
Chabad of Wheeling offers Jewish education, outreach and social service programming for families and individuals of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations. For information, visit wheelingchabad.com.