By Tina Fisher Cunningham
Fisher Forde Media
Joyful message of Chanukah
The Forde Files No 138
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Tina Fisher Cunningham
Chabad of Bakersfield lights public menorah in Tehachapi
Tina Fisher Cunningham
Rabbi Shmuli Schlanger sings about the miracle of Chanukah.
Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah) is a happy eight-day Jewish celebration of the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army in 165 BCE. The opposing army had left the temple in Jerusalem a wreck, breaking the jugs of holy oil, and only one day's worth of undefiled lamp oil could be found. The lamp miraculously burned for eight days until more holy oil could be installed. Rabbi Shmuli Schlanger of the Jewish outreach organization Chabad of Bakersfield set up a menorah in Tehachapi on Dec. 27 in front of Moses Master Carpet, owned by Moshe "Moses" Mizrache, who lit the lights for the fourth day of Chanukah. Inside the store, visitors ate latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly donuts fried in oil. "Life is full of lights – open our eyes to see it," Schlanger said.
