Photo gallery: Menorah lighting at Liberty Station celebrates Hanukkah
Hundreds of people celebrated the start of Hanukkah on Nov. 28 during the annual menorah lighting at Liberty Station’s Central Promenade in Point Loma.
Rabbi Yossi Tiefenbrun of Chabad of Pacific Beach recited a series of blessings in Hebrew as he lit a candle in a silver menorah to celebrate the first night of the Jewish holiday, during which menorah candles are lit one by one each day at sundown for eight days.
Get Point Loma-OB Monthly in your inbox every month
News and features about Point Loma and Ocean Beach every month for free
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Point Loma-OB Monthly.
According to the story of Hanukkah, an army made up of followers of priest Mattathias Maccabee and his son, Judah, revolted against the Seleucid Empire and reclaimed the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 B.C. The army wanted to light the temple’s ceremonial lamp with ritually pure olive oil as part of the rededication but found only enough oil to burn for one day. The oil, however, burned for eight days in what was considered a miracle.
Thus, the typical Hanukkah menorah has eight branches with an additional branch with which the others are lit.
Tiefenbrun said Hanukkah “teaches us we can’t give up hope. ... A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness.”
— Point Loma-OB Monthly staff contributed to this report.
