GLENDALE - While today may be just another Friday to some, for others
it is the eve of the 25th day of the month of Kislev, the start of
Hanukkah.
For Glendale residents Emily Bergman and her husband, Mark Allen, the
eighth-day holiday is a celebration of freedom.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the
victory in 165 B.C. of the Maccabees, a family of Jews from Judea, over
the Syrian tyrant Antiochus IV.
"This small band was miraculously able to beat a much larger and more
powerful army to gain their freedom," Bergman said.
To celebrate the holiday, Bergman and her family will light one candle
on their ceramic Menorah each night for eight nights.
The practice is meant to commemorate the story told in the Talmud -- a
collection of writings on subjects ranging from history to law -- of when
the Jews, after a three-year struggle, took back the Temple in Jerusalem.
Though they found a vessel with enough oil to light the holy lamps for
only one day, the oil lasted for eight days.
Rabbi Simcha Backman of Chabad of Glendale said the holiday has a
universal message.
"The theme of Hanukkah is the perseverance of good, that ultimately
good will always perseveres and comes out on top," he said.
LOCAL HANNUKAH OBSERVANCES
* Temple Sinai of Glendale, 1212 N. Pacific Ave., will hold a family
service at 7:30 p.m. today. For more information, call 246-8101.
* Burbank Temple Emanu El, 1302 N. Glenoaks Blvd. in Burbank, will
hold a service at 7 p.m. today. For more information, call 845-1734.
* Chabad of Glendale, along with Chabad of Burbank and Chabad of Los
Feliz, is holding a Grand Chanukah Celebration and GiantMenorah Lighting
at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Glendale Galleria, 2132 Glendale Galleria. For
more information, call (310) 208-7511, ext. 250.
