Candles and floodlights brought light in the darkness on the fifth night of Chanukah

The Longmont Fire Department brought an engine out to Prospect last night to help Chabad Longmont, Longmont’s only Jewish synagogue, celebrate the fifth night of Chanukah. The truck's lights brightened the dark square at Tenacity Drive and 100 Year Party Court so Longmont residents could honor the Jewish Festival of Lights last night.

Chanukah honors miracles, hope and light in the darkness, recalling a time when a band of Jewish ancestors reclaimed the Holy Temple of Israel but found only enough sacred oil to light the temple’s menorah. The oil lasted a miraculous eight nights, before more oil could be purified for the temple. Jewish people light the menorah each year to honor the miracle.

Chabad Longmont brought hot cocoa, latkes and donuts to the festivities, led by Rabbi Yakov Borenstein. Because the story of Chanukah involves a miracle of oil, traditional foods are fried in oil — the Eastern-European potato cake, or latke, and the Israeli jelly-filled donut, or sufganya. Children and adults waved glow sticks and light tubes, sending colorful strobes through the night.

“The message of Chanukah is that light dispels darkness, good prevails over hatred,” Borenstein said. 

On each of Chanukah’s eight nights, a candle is lit on the menorah. The fifth night holds special significance in Jewish spirituality and comes up frequently in teachings and history, Borenstein said, so the celebration is bigger than usual.

 The crowd gathered around the stage as Borenstein led the candle lighting with a traditional Hebrew blessing. Five candles were lit on the grand menorah last night, before children gathered at the edge of the street to await Longmont Fire Department staff dropping chocolate coins and toy menorahs on parachutes from the bucket ladder.

Borenstein was pleased with the turnout, estimating around 100 people showed up to celebrate with Chabad Longmont. The rabbi was glad to provide an opportunity for families to gather in joy and hope, given the struggles faced by communities all over in the past year.

“People are going through so many trials and tribulations, they’ve lost loved ones or know someone who has. Everyone has been hurt or affected somehow,” Borenstein said. “This is great to show us that we’ve all gone through trials and tribulations but we will come out of it stronger.”

Borenstein said this year’s Chanukah aligning closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas was unique. Jewish holidays are aligned to a lunar calendar, so don’t always land at the same time each year on the traditional Gregorian calendar.

One of the members of Chabad Longmont’s congregation for many years, Melissa Held brought her family out to celebrate. Her sons, one a senior in high school now, were eager to join the festivities as well. 

“It's just nice that we can gather together after we couldn’t last year, so it's really nice to see the community,” Held said. “My kids love it, they still came out for the donuts and latke.”

Held was grateful to have such a welcoming and thriving community in Chabad Longmont, she said, one that didn’t exist when she moved to Longmont 20 years ago. The Jewish community has only grown in the decade since she joined, according to Held, in part due to the generosity of Borenstein and his family. 

Borenstein emphasized the importance of kindness and love during the holiday season, to show camaraderie to each other and especially to people within the Longmont community.

“The message is that every single day we add a little bit of good,” Borenstein said. “We don’t have to zap the darkness, we don’t have to jump off bridges to change the world. We just need to take one little step at a time.”