Blazing at the edge of the Tinsel Trail in Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Ala., a Hanukkah menorah signals a celebration of freedom of religion for both Jews and Christians, said Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar during the community lighting Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, the 5th night of Hanukkah. (Kay Campbell/KCampbell@AL.com)
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Hanukkah, the eight-day celebration of the successful revolt by a small band of Jews in Greek-occupied Jerusalem, also marks one of the earliest struggles in the world for religious freedom - a struggle that remains important today, said Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014, as she lit a community Hanukkah menorah at the edge of the city's Tinsel Trail, a winding path lined with decorated Christmas trees.
"When you see this early struggle for the right to worship freely, and then you look around the world today and the threats to religious freedom that still exist, we can see that these Hanukkah lights and the lights of the Christmas trees give hope not just here, but around the world," Rabbi Bahar said as oil-wicked lamps glowed from the arms of a seven-foot Hanukkah menorah fashioned from chrome exhaust pipes.
The celebration also demonstrated again how Huntsville is a better city for the people of good will and the people of faith who work together, said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle in his brief remarks.
After Bahar lit six of the eight arms, marking the fifth night of the eight-day celebration (the sixth candle is the "servant" candle used to light the others), the choir of Temple B'nai Sholom led a Hanukkah sing-along with the crowd of about 60 people who had gathered out of the dozens of families promenading along the glittering tinsel trail around the lagoon. A table stocked with boxes of fresh donuts waited at one side to share one of the traditional treats of Hanukkah.
A second community Hanukkah celebration will be led Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014, at 4:30 p.m., in Bridge Street Centre on the plaza in front of the Apple store by Orthodox Rabbi Laibel Berkowitz. That celebration is also free and open to the community, and will feature music, children's games, a raffle and, of course, donuts.