Holiday festivities continued in Columbia County, Sunday evening, with a nod to hope, community and human solidarity, at the annual Giant Menorah Lighting Ceremony.
Martinez synagogue and Jewish outreach center Chabad of Augusta held the annual Hanukkah celebration at Evans Towne Center Park.
Rabbi Zalman Fischer of Chabad of Augusta presided over the ceremony, in which the eight-branched candelabra, or menorah, is lit to commence the eight-day Festival of Lights. Children signing Hanukkah songs, the distribution of fried latkes and donuts, and even fire juggling were among the highlights of the evening, which culminated in the dropping of the gelt—chocolate coins traditionally given to children for Hanukkah—in parachutes, courtesy of the Columbia County Fire Dept.
“How beautiful, how American that we have the freedom to celebrate the festival of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights openly, publicly and proudly, right here in the center of our community, this evening,” said Rabbi Fischer in an opening address to a jovial crowd of families assembled to begin the sunset celebration. “We gather to kindle the menorah and remind ourselves that there’s no power on earth greater than the light of goodness, no darkness so deep, no hatred so strong, no evil so terrible that it cannot be defeated by even one small act of goodness, one little candle.”
Alongside Fischer, representing the county were Board of Commissioners Chairman Doug Duncan and Commissioner Alison Couch.
Duncan offered prayers for the Jewish community, alluding to the attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and for the release of the Israeli hostages, while also acknowledging, “the emphasis of Hanukkah and the enduring message, the triumph of faith, identity and the hope over darkness.”
Couch mentioned the visit of Israeli Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon to Grovetown in the weeks after Hurricane Helene, saying, “Her kindness towards our community will never be forgotten. Today and every day, we stand with you. Happy Hanukkah, may it be filled with love.”
Hanukkah, which began this year on Dec. 25 and will continue through Jan. 2, is the commemoration of the Jewish military victory over the Syrian-Greeks in the 2nd century BCE. The festival recounts how the Jews, after recapturing the temple, which had been desecrated by the Greeks, prepared to rededicate it, but only had one night’s worth of oil to light the candelabra for daily services. That one jar of oil, however, burned miraculously for eight days.
“The main celebration of Hanukkah is the candles. You take the candle in a dark room, it automatically dispels darkness,” said Rabbi Fischer. “One candle in a dark room is enough to make a difference. That’s how we need to look at positivity and goodness, good activities.”
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of public Hanukkah celebrations. In 1974, the first public menorah lighting was held in front of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, part of a global campaign of public Jewish displays launched by the late Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, a renowned spiritual leader in the centuries-old Hasidic Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Fischer notes that the primary message of Hanukkah is not only for Jewish people, but is universal encouragement to “spread the miracle.” Referring to recent spikes in antisemitism over the past year, he expressed that the central theme of the Festival of Lights is the doing of acts of kindness to counter darkness.
“That’s a disturbing thing, but we’re going to respond to that in a positive way by doing more good and more good and more good and emphasizing any good,” Fischer said. “And that’s going to be the best answer for this kind of activity. We have to call out what’s wrong, of course, but the focus should be in adding good and more positivity.”
Skyler Andrews is a reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
