Mount Kisco Menorah lighting brings light, unity and reflection

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Members of the Jewish community and supporters gathered bravely in the teeth-chattering cold to dispel darkness with communal light at a menorah lighting in Mount Kisco.

The Hanukkah celebration, held in the village’s Fountain Park on Sunday, Dec. 14, was organized by Bet Torah, Hebrew Congregation of Mount Kisco, and Temple Shaaray Tefila.

There was joy as jelly doughnuts and hot cocoa were consumed, candles were held in mittened hands, songs were sung, and holiday swag was distributed.

There was also sorrow shared over the horrific news of a mass shooting in Australia that morning that had taken the lives of at least 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration.

Sam Hest of Bet Torah urged the crowd to pray for the victims and their families.

Thanking event partners – including the Chamber of Commerce, village officials, and spiritual leaders – he made special mention of local police who were there supporting and protecting the Jewish community.

“Bet Torah is proud to be amongst the diverse faith community in this welcoming village. We are proud to be American Jews who live in this extraordinary country and we feel fortunate to not just light the hanukkiah (menorah) tonight in our homes but to do so publicly with the support and love of our neighbors,” Hest said.

Above his synagogue’s Holy Ark (a cabinet or recess that holds the Torah scrolls) is a verse that says: “God’s candle is the human soul.”

“This reminds us that we can bring all of God’s light to the world through our own actions. It reminds us that we can see the light in others,” Hest said, adding: “May the light that we add to the world tonight from this place inspire us all to continue to bring light into the world.”

Rabbi Zachary Beer of HCMK retold the traditional Hanukkah story, which celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, who were Jewish freedom fighters who fought the Greek-Syrian invaders who’d desecrated the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

The miracle, recorded in the Talmud, is that a single day’s worth of oil instead burned for eight days straight in the reclaimed holy site.

Quoting Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the late founder and first rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, Beer intoned: “A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness.”

“When the world is especially dark and especially violent and especially cold, we can take our light, the light of our menorah, our light of our actions, our light of our commitment to our faith and our God and we can create more light in our communities, in our homes, and everywhere around us,” he said, adding: “Happy Hanukkah!”