Menorahs in France to Shed Light During State of Emergency

Chabad Houses across Paris and its suburban environs are preparing for outdoor public Chanukah menorah-lightings just weeks after terror attacks killed more than 120 people throughout the city.

“There will be public menorah-lighting celebrations all around Paris, including the giant menorah-lighting event at the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night—the first night of the eight-day holiday,” announced Rabbi Chaim Shneur Nisenbaum of the Complexe Scolaire Beth Haya Moushka school system in Paris. The chief rabbi of France, Rabbi Haim Korsia, will be in attendance, as well as the president of Jewish institutions in France, members of the local city councils and representatives from the French government.

A 30-foot menorah will be lit by Rabbi Korsia at the base of the Eiffel Tower, with nearly 6,000 people expected to attend.

The event will be broadcast live on Jewish.tv on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST (8 p.m. in France) with a satellite link-up displaying a simultaneous menorah-lighting at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. (View here)

All of this comes as the City of Light continues to be under a state of emergency that began last month after terror attacks rocked the French capital. Scores of people were killed and hundreds of others injured when seven terrorists working in small groups used assault rifles and homemade bombs to launch multiple attacks on Nov. 13, including one inside a crowd of concert-goers in the Bataclan theater.

While that may have led to talk that the public menorah-lighting celebrations would be canceled—social media was rampant with such rumors earlier this week—the rabbis insist that it’s even more important that life go on as usual, especially when it comes to Chanukah.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to turn out for the more than 30 different public menorah-lighting celebrations across the city and nearly 100 in nearby towns. To that end, ads have been taken out in the four national newspapers about the observances of the eight-day holiday, and more than 500 billboards appear throughout Paris as part of Chabad-Lubavitch’s Chanukah awareness program there.

Billboards and posters have been advertising Chanukah celebrations in France. (Photo: Chlouchim.com)

Chabad-Lubavitch is also organizing 10 menorah mobiles stocked with menorahs and holiday materials to be stationed around Paris. More than 150,000 Chanukah brochures and 30,000 menorah kits are being distributed in France. Chanukah-related material will be mailed to an additional 56,000 people, and 25,000 traditional jelly doughnuts have been ordered for distribution at the celebrations.

However, Nisenbaum explained that because a state of emergency remains in effect, the police must first approve any large-scale outdoor gatherings. The rabbi added that other than two locations—Republic Square and Bastille Square, both of which are close in proximity to the Bataclan—authorities said the menorah-lighting ceremonies could go ahead as planned.

‘Feel Some Yiddishkeit’

Some changes in the proceedings will go into effect, most of which will not directly influence the overall celebration.

Heavy security will be on hand, as it was this week when Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries held a major gathering in honor of 19 Kislev, a day that’s considered the “New Year for Chassidism.”

“We had a metal detector and all of these security measures, and still the theater was full,” reported Nisenbaum. “When people see what’s going on outside, they want to feel something—feel some Yiddishkeit and warmth in their heart. And I think that will be the same for Chanukah.”

He noted that celebrations will take place in multiple locations each night, except for Saturday night, when police asked that they not hold a public gathering.

Among the areas that will have a communal public menorah-lighting is the suburb of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, where police raided an apartment where alleged terror attackers were hiding. Three of the suspects were killed after setting off a suicide vest during a standoff with police.

“We were not going to stop just because of what happened,” said Rabbi Mendel Belinow, director of Beth Chabad S. Denis & La Plaine, who has been hosting the public menorah-lightings for the last 24 years. “It will be near the Saint-Denis City Hall, like it is every year.”

Because a state of emergency is still in effect in Paris, the police have to approve any large-scale outdoor gatherings, like the Chanukah lightings. (Photo: Chlouchim.com)

Like Rabbi Nisenbaum, Rabbi Belinow worked with local authorities to ensure that everything will be done with care and safety. Belinow got the official go-ahead and all the necessary documents for the outdoor ceremony on Wednesday, exactly one week before the Chabad-sponsored event will be held.

“This year will be even better than other years,” he predicted. “We are making sure that, especially this year, that there should be a big kiddush Hashem [sanctification of G‑d’s name]. We will try and bring light into the very dark places in Saint-Denis.”

Two Mitzvahs: Menorah and Hakhel

While the outdoor festivities will go on as scheduled in most of Paris and surrounding areas, that is not the case in Marseille, where officials have requested that Chabad move the festivities indoors this year.

The city has been a flashpoint for violence against Jews in recent years. Just last month Rabbi Tsion Saadoun, a Chabad emissary and teacher, was stabbed outside a Jewish school, though his injuries were not life-threatening. A rabbi and two worshippers were stabbed in late October while outside a synagogue in Marseille; the city has a history of crime and anti-Semitic incidents.

Announcing a Chanukah event for students near the Sorbonne in Paris. (Photo: Chlouchim.com)

Meanwhile, in Paris, Saint-Denis and suburbs with smaller Jewish populations and larger communities, the preparations and countdown to Chanukah go on. Billboards and placards are up in venues around the city reminding people that the Festival of Lights is about to begin, and menorahs kits are being given out to Jewish individuals and families.

Noting that it’s a Hakhel year—a time when Jews historically come together for study and prayer—Belinow encourages everyone to come out and join in the festivities.

“The whole world is in darkness, and we are bringing in light,” he says. “Those who come will do two mitzvahs: celebrate the lighting of the menorah and participate in a Hakhel gathering. We should be together here on behalf of everyone.”

Adds Nisenbaum: “This year, Chanukah delivers a particularly relevant message. In Paris, we very recently faced terrible attacks. These attacks are intended to put an end to freedom of mind and opinions. In the historical times of Chanukah, the invaders of the Land of Israel, the Greeks, had the same intention. But the Jews did not submit.

“They knew that light is stronger than obscurity, and that nobody can douse it. For this reason, people are planning to come to the public lightings even more than the previous years, showing their strength and unity now more than ever.”

For Chanukah information—including locating public menorah lightings—including inspiration, recipes, events for the whole family and more, visit the Chabad.org Chanukah 2015 page here.

Encouraging "everyone to celebrate together," especially in this Hakhel year, at Chabad public menorah-lightings and events throughout the City of Light. (Photo: Chlouchim.com)