Celebrating Hanukkah in Lawrence

More than 100 children from nursery school up to eighth grade celebrated Hanukkah with a lighting ceremony of a 9-foot high menorah with their teachers, parents and religious leaders at The Brandeis School in Lawrence on the morning of Dec. 17.
Participants gathered outside in front of the school on Frost Lane to sing traditional holiday songs and watch the candle, representing the second day of Hanukkah, being lit.
Rabbi Bruce Ginsberg of the Congregation Sons of Israel in Woodmere was one of a few guests who spoke to the children, and said there are many reasons the eight-day holiday is celebrated. “This is a holiday where we thank God for all the work he presents to us,” he said. “I trust that each of you, inspired by the example of the Maccabees and recalling the miracles of ancient times and our own times, will always stand up to do that which is right.”
From the Chabad of the Five Towns in Cedarhurst, Rabbi Shneur Wolowik reminded the crowd to remember the holiday’s meaning and apply it to life. “When you are at the ball game, when you are playing sports, and when you’re not at school, Hanukkah tells us that we take who we are, proud Jews, and bring it to the outside,” he said. “We are proud of who we are. It’s like when we light the candles—as much as we do today, we want to do more tomorrow, to make the world a better place.”
The ceremony will take place again next year, as it has every year since the school opened in 1930.