‘Life is about living’: Chabad of Spokane lights menorah in Riverfront Park on fourth night of Hanukkah

With technicolored trees lining walking paths, festive seasonal imagery lit up on bridges and “Happy Holidays” projected on the clock tower, Riverfront Park is a picturesque winter scene.

A large menorah is right at home in the winter wonderland. Erected by Chabad of Spokane, flames from five of its nine torches – one for each day of Hanukkah and the Shamash – flicker under the delicate December mist.

The precipitation doesn’t quell the flames, nor the spirit of the crowd of over 100 people who came to celebrate the holiday Sunday and in search of community.

Chabad of Spokane, led by Rabbi Yisroel Hahn, was holding its annual menorah lighting and gelt drop, the fourth day of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, which commemorates the rededication and reclamation of the Temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.

Inside the temple, Jewish warriors called the Maccabees found one jar of oil that should have only burned one night. Instead, a miracle ensued, and the oil gave them light for eight nights.

“We may believe that we possess but a small jar of oil to fight the darkness that surrounds us; we can become afraid and give up, feeling as if the world around us has gone mad,” Hahn said just before lighting the menorah. “That’s when the miracle of Hanukkah reminds us and speaks to us; we are the Maccabees.”

Attendees from myriad faiths and all walks of life – some driving from hours away – came to relish in the holiday and community.

After Hahn lit the flame, firefighters from the Spokane Fire Department erected their ladder high above the rotary fountain and crowd; they sprinkled bags of chocolate coins, called gelt, for the children to scramble and grab.

That was what Nava Sloan said she was most looking forward to. The youngster has attended the festivities with her family every year for the past eight years.

Fiona Sloan stood in the cold with her kids wrapped up in puffy winter coats, wiping the mist from their exposed faces.

“Doing something with the greater community, it’s just for tradition and to do something celebratory,” Sloan said.

After lighting the menorah and singing traditional songs, the crowd of celebrators migrated to the pavilion to eat with each other: potato latkes cooked in oil to signify the holiday’s origins and smeared in applesauce and sour cream, the traditional accoutrements.

Steven Meltzer, originally from New York, misses the large Jewish population in his home city. New York has one of the highest Jewish population of any city worldwide. His father operated a Jewish deli on Long Island. He enjoys coming out to the annual menorah lighting to simulate the large community in New York.

“There’s only a couple times a year where everybody gets together,” Meltzer said.

Though thousands of years have passed, Meltzer said, while chowing down on latkes and jelly donuts, he still feels the enduring spirit of the Maccabees.

“It’s a celebration of freedom,” Meltzer said. “Personal freedom, religious freedom, freedom of country, celebration of lights , bringing light to the world, illuminating the darkness and getting rid of hatred.”

Meltzer and wife Christy Meltzer now live in Medical Lake. She isn’t Jewish, and the two raised their children in a culturally blended household, but she loves lighting their menorah and placing one in her window to spread the joy and the perseverance of the holiday.

Hanukkah this year comes just two months after Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis. The Oct. 7 attack fell on the Jewish holiday Shemini Atzeret. Hahn said Hanukkah was especially important to spread positivity after this darkness felt by the Jewish community in Spokane.

“Like when a family is going through a rough time, those special dates in the calendar are important for us to celebrate together; especially Hanukkah really means a lot to us,” Hahn said, noting it’s the first holiday after this year’s fateful Shemini Atzeret. “Life is not about our survival; life is about living life, and that’s what Hanukkah is about: becoming the candle and becoming inspiration.”