Synagogue lights huge menorah, wants Hanukkah ‘miracle to be known’

Amid the din of traffic along Woodlawn, members of the Hebrew Congregation of Wichita sang praises and lighted a menorah outside on Monday evening to share with the world the joy of the season.

“The occasion of Hanukkah marks a miracle,” said Rabbi Michael Gilboa, leader of the northeast Wichita synagogue. “And it’s very important for us for the miracle to be known. It should be shared with the wider community.”

Hanukkah, the Jewish eight-day “festival of lights,” commemorates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C., when a small supply of oil miraculously lasted eight days for a group of Jewish people fighting to defeat the Greek army.

“The miracle was that we found a way to survive in the face of those who said ... ‘You’re welcome to be a part of us, but you have to change everything about who you are,’ ” Gilboa said.

“Hanukkah is a great reminder that that ought not be the case,” he said. “That to be truly welcoming, to be truly inclusive, means to welcome everyone as they are and to bring everyone into the tent, to say that everyone is in my circle of care.

“Everyone, no matter where you come from, no matter what you believe, no matter what your background is, you are my brother, you are my sister. As fellow human beings, we are all family.”

The Hebrew Congregation invited members of the public to be part of the menorah lighting on Monday. About 25 worshipers gathered outside the synagogue, where Cliff Bayne climbed a ladder and lit the first three branches of the menorah while the small crowd chanted praises in Hebrew: “Oh, mighty rock of my salvation, to praise you is a delight.”

Monday marked the third day of Hanukkah, which this year overlapped with Christmas, an occurrence that hasn’t happened since 1978 and won’t take place again until 2027. Hanukkah began Saturday and will continue through Sunday.

“We thank God, the ruler of the universe, who brings miracles to us in the same way that he brought miracles to our forefathers,” Gilboa said.

“And we believe that. We believe that God is not done working in this world, and the God who rescued our ancestors in the time of the Maccabees is still very much present in our lives.”

Looking up at the giant menorah as its flames flickered in the Kansas wind, 5-year-old Anax Schoerning shouted, “Three nights of Hanukkah!”

“That’s right,” Gilboa replied. “And now we go inside for the ceremonial drinking of hot chocolate and eating of doughnuts.”

This story was originally published December 26, 2016 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Synagogue lights huge menorah, wants Hanukkah ‘miracle to be known’."