Chabad-Lubavitch of Northwest Philadelphia is holding an outdoor menorah lighting on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Canal View Park, 4430 Main St. in Manayunk. This follows last week’s menorah lighting at Cliff Park, on Germantown Avenue near Cresheim Valley Drive.
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, recalls the victory more than 2,100 years ago of a militarily weak but spiritually strong Jewish people who defeated a ruthless enemy that had overrun ancient Israel and sought to impose restrictions on their way of life, prohibit religious freedom and force the Jewish people to accept a foreign religion.
Historical accounts say that during the occupation of Jerusalem, Syrian Greeks desecrated and defiled the oils prepared for the lighting of the menorah, which was part of the daily service in the temple. Upon recapturing the temple from the Syrian Greeks, only one jar of undefiled oil was found, enough to burn only one day, but it lasted miraculously for eight days until new, pure olive oil was produced.
In commemoration of this event, and in celebration of religious freedom, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days by lighting an eight-branched candelabra known as a menorah.
Chabad-Lubavitch of Northwest Philadelphia, at 7334 Rural Lane in West Mt. Airy, is the local branch of the Worldwide Chabad Movement and serves the entire Northwest Philadelphia, including Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Roxborough, Manayunk and East Falls.
