Reminder: Public menorah-lighting ceremony in Lynnwood Dec. 18

Rabbi Berel Paltiel in front of the 9-foot menorah during the 2021 ceremony. (File photo by David Carlos)

Chabad Jewish Center of Snohomish County invites all to celebrate the Festival of Lights with the 11th annual Menorah Lighting and Celebration at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at Lynnwood City Hall, 19100 44th Ave. W., Lynnwood.

The event will feature the lighting of the 9-footMenorah, holiday treats, face painting, personal Menorah kits and a Hanukkah musical performance by the Seattle-based Klez Katz Klezmer band.  Remarks will be offered by Rabbi Berel Paltiel of the Chabad Jewish Center of Snohomish County and local officials.

“The menorah serves as a symbol of our community’s dedication to preserve and encourage the rights of every human being, including the liberty of all its citizens to worship G‑d freely, openly, and with pride,” Paltiel said. “This is true especially in America, a nation that was founded upon and vigorously protects the right of every person to practice his or her faith free from restraint and persecution.”

The Menorah lighting is part of the worldwide Hanukkah campaign, launched in 1973, that highlights and encourages the central theme of the holiday — publicizing the story of the Hanukkah miracle.

“The message of Hanukkah is the message of light,” added Paltiel. “The nature of light is that it is always victorious over darkness. A small amount of light dispels a lot of darkness. Another act of goodness and kindness, another act of light, can make all the difference.”

Lynnwood’s menorah is one of more than 15,000 large public menorahs sponsored by Chabad in more than 100 countries around the world, including in front of landmarks such as the White House and the Eiffel Tower, helping children and adults of all walks of life discover and enjoy the holiday message

Learn more at www.JewishSnohomish.com/menorah.

    1. This is how the written quote from the Rabbi was submitted in the press release. There’s an explanation on this website for why many Jewish print and online publishers choose “to not spell out the name of our Creator, even in English. Rather, we write “G‑d.”

      We follow Associated Press style guidelines, for the most part, and the AP style guide addressed this very question from another journalism organization:

      Q: I know the AP uses “God” in religious cases. I have a written quote from a Jewish rabbi that uses “G-d.” Do I leave it alone since it is how the original quote was written or should I change it to “God” stay consistent with the rest of the article?

      A: When quoting written words, retain the style used by the writer; do not alter the written words even if they don’t match AP style.

      Hope that helps. — Teresa

  1. Thank you for the clarification but I am curious why the Jewish print does not spell God’s name correctly. I will research that to satisfy my curiosity.

    1. Jews are not the only people who do not spell out the Name of G-d.

      Being a sacred appellation it is not used in secular documents or context. Also, the Being of the Divine is beyond being limited by a tiny word (or many words) that don’t have common/agreed upon definition.

      As an Interfaith Chaplain I respect the multitude of ways people express their communication about the Divine. I try never to assume that my way is the only way a voice may be heard.

    2. Linda, you may wish to check out the work of Nehemiah Gordon, a Karaite Jew who has examined ancient Hebrew manuscripts around the world. He shares that as Hebrew tradition is to omit the vowels of YHWH in order to avoid a mistake in writing the name of God, it is only since 2018 that more than a handful of manuscripts have been found where scribes wrote the full name of God, such that we can now know his name, “Yehovah.”

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