The Beverly Hills community came together to celebrate the beginning of Hanukkah at the annual Menorah Lighting Celebration on Dec. 15.
“It’s wonderful to see so many from the community with us here tonight for this special moment in this difficult time in the world,” Deputy City Manager Keith Sterling said in his opening speech. “We’re here to celebrate together as Beverly Hills always does. We’re a resilient community.”
Hundreds of community members, families and visitors gathered as the sun set over Beverly Gardens Park. The night was illuminated by the shining lights of the Menorah and decorations set up throughout the park to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
Mayor Sharona Nazarian began her speech by denouncing the antisemitic terror attack on Dec. 14 that took place at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, Australia, and claimed the lives of 15 people.
The city lowered its flag to half-staff on Dec. 15 and increased security around houses of worship and public events in the wake of the attack and a shooting at Brown University. Nazarian thanked the Beverly Hills community for standing in unity.
“Just yesterday on what marked the first day of Hanukkah and the celebrations we saw in Australia, once again, the world saw the horrors of terrorism fueled by antisemitism. Our thoughts and prayers are with those victims,” she said. “Hanukkah can teach us that light can endure even the most overwhelming odds of hatred and darkness. When the Maccabees were attacked, a small amount of oil burned for 8 days, a miracle. Today, we are witnessing miracles, and we can see them if we are willing to open our eyes and our hearts. Being able to stand here freely together as a united community celebrating faith and tradition without fear, that’s a miracle.”
Nazarian also stressed the importance of coming together during difficult times.
“In Beverly Hills, unity is not just a word, it’s a choice we make again and again,” Nazarian said. “In Beverly Hills, we will always stand up to hatred, discrimination and antisemitism because never again is exactly right now. Tonight, as we light the menorah, let us also light something within ourselves: hope, compassion and a quiet confidence that even in a most complicated world, even in a world that can feel cold, unsympathetic and even divided, light will win.”
Photo courtesy city of Beverly Hills
The Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy children’s choir then performed a celebratory rendition of “I Have a Little Dreidel” to raucous applause from the gathered crowd. Nazarian was then joined by the Beverly Hills City Council and Rabbi Cantor Arik Wollheim of Beth Jacob Congregation for the official lighting. Members of the Beverly Hills Police Department, Beverly Hills Unified School District, city staff and hundreds of community members were also in attendance for the lighting.
Wollheim then lit a candle and with the help of Mayor Nazarian, kept the candle burning as he sang the Hanukkah blessings. The children’s choir came back onto the stage. With the help of the entire City Council, the gathered crowd raised their voices together as the menorah was illuminated.
