Ocean County commissioners observe Hanukkah at their ‘first annual’ menorah lighting

Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press
·3 min read

TOMS RIVER - When Ocean County’s annual Christmas tree was lit earlier this week, it was sharing the south lawn of the Administration Building, for the first time, with the county’s new Hanukkah menorah.

The center flame and the first of its other eight branches on the 10-foot high lampstand were lit last Sunday evening, in a public ceremony to celebrate the start of the Festival of Lights, which ends Monday evening.

Sam Ellenbogen, of Toms River, who is a member of the Toms River Jewish Community Council, recently approached Ocean County Director Gary Quinn to suggest adding a menorah lighting ceremony to the county’s mostly Christian-based holiday festivities.

“Gary Quinn was extremely receptive,” Ellenbogen said.

Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy, who attended the lighting, said 1 in 6 of Ocean County’s more than 637,000 residents are Orthodox Jewish, and the county’s traditions need to better reflect its diversity.

“We can’t have a giant Christmas tree on the lawn with no menorah,” Mastronardy said.

Ocean County government’s first Hanukkah menorah on the south lawn of its Administration Building at Hooper Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Toms River.
Ocean County government’s first Hanukkah menorah on the south lawn of its Administration Building at Hooper Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Toms River.

Also in the county seat this week, there was a menorah parade Thursday evening and the township was having its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony Friday night.

Hanukkah is an eight-day long celebration that began in the second century B.C.E., after the failed occupation of Judaea by the Seleucid Empire. The Second Temple of Jerusalem had been desecrated during the invasion and the annual festival was started to commemorate its rededication and, by extension, to reaffirm the ideals of Judaism — which the Hellenistic empire had sought to suppress before its attempted conquest was defeated, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

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The outer eight branches of the candelabrum each symbolize one night of Hanukkah. Each branch is first lit on the day it represents, until all eight branches are eventually illuminated by the end of the festival.

A ninth center branch, which stands higher than the others, is called the shamash (the Hebrew word for “servant”). Before electricity at the turn of a switch, its sole function was to remain ablaze from the start of Hanukkah, so an attendant could use it to light the other eight branches as the festival progressed over the eight nights.

In the passing millennium, the center light has taken on its own symbolism of service.

The servant is higher than the other branches because service to others is the highest calling, explained Rabbi Moshe Gourarie of the Chabad Jewish Center of Toms River.

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In his public remarks at the ceremony on Sunday, Director Quinn said the Hanukkah menorah represents the Jewish maxim that a little bit of light can eliminate a great deal of darkness.

“Always know that your friendship is a light to all of us in Ocean County,” Quinn said to the members of the Jewish community who were present. “By honoring and respecting traditions different from our own, we come closer to experiencing universal human love.”

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean County NJ commissioners hold first Hanukkah menorah lighting