The air may have been chilly, but the spirit was warm at December’s Chanukah Menorah lighting in Santa Clara. The event drew a crowd of all ages, from young families to senior citizens, to the Civic Center Park, with Mayor Lisa Gillmor and new Police Chief Cory Morgan doing the honors of lighting the Menorah.
Sponsored by Chabad of Santa Clara, there were traditional latkes (potato pancakes), chicken soup, fun for kids, live music, singing, dancing, a dancing dreidel, and even a fire-juggling performance by the dexterous Rabbi Yigal Rosenberg; who, with his wife Rebbetzin Elana Rosenberg, heads the Santa Clara Chabad House.
The Menorah lighting was inaugurated in Santa Clara in 2016, but the COVID pandemic in 2020 shut it down. December marked its return, and the Rosenbergs are optimistic that the event will become an enduring community tradition…