Chabad Celebrates 33rd Annual Palisades Unity Menorah Lighting

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Hundreds of community members gathered on the first night of Hanukkah, November 28, to watch Honorary Mayor Eugene Levy and Chabad Jewish Community Center of Pacific Palisades light the menorah at Palisades Village during the communitywide Annual Palisades Unity Menorah Lighting.

Before the program officially began, there was live entertainment by Isaac Gordon, the Palisades Charter High School Band and the Jewish Enrichment Club. Those who attended also snacked on traditional latkes and Hanukkah sufganiyot (donuts), with activities available for children to complete.

The 33rd annual menorah lighting was emceed by comedian Elon Gold, who will have a role in the upcoming season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” created by Palisadian Larry David.

“This for me is a dream come true, most comedians dream of playing Carnegie Hall,” Gold joked. “It was always my dream to play the Caruso Palisades Village mall area. This is exciting, this is a career high, this is a moment.”

Gold welcomed everyone to the event, sharing that part of what he loves about Chabad is that the organization is “all-inclusive,” encouraging people of all denominations to participate.

“Chabad’s mission is to share unconditional love, light, joy, purpose and meaning in a completely non-judgemental, warm and welcoming way,” Gold shared. “When I think about Chabad, it’s about spreading light, and this is the Festival of Lights.”

Around the globe, Chabad hosted more than 5,000 public menorah lightings on Sunday evening, including in cities like Melbourne, Moscow, Buenos Aires and all over Israel.

Rabbi Zushe Cunin of Chabad then welcomed to the stage Cantor Chayim Frenkel and Daniel Leanse from Kehillat Israel to perform a rendition of “We Are the World,” which ended in a sing-along.

Gold introduced Levy to the stage to light the menorah after sharing a few words.

“It’s an honor for me tonight to be here, kicking off the holiday season in my favorite village in the whole world, by lighting the first Hanukkah candle—or turning the first Hanukkah bulb on here—in 2021,” he shared. “This is the biggest menorah I have ever stood in front of, the menorah that I have at home is much smaller … if I had this at home, it could be a lot happier Hanukkah in my place.”

After Levy shared what Hanukkah meant to him growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada—which was mainly about the food—Cunin returned to the stage to thank him for his leadership in the Palisades and present him with a menorah.

“The message of Hanukkah is so powerful and it’s so important for the Jewish community and for all of humanity,” Cunin shared. “A little bit of light dispels so much darkness, and each of us has an eternal flame inside of us.”

He explained that over the course of the eight nights of Hanukkah, as an additional candle is lit, the holiday progresses.

“Every day should be a day of progress,” Cunin reflected. “Every one of us has light inside of us that is unique and irreplaceable and we have something so important to share with the universe. No one can do your job, every one of us has something special to share.

“Let’s do something, let’s make our world a better place. What a blessing, what a blessing to be here with all of you.”

The ceremony concluded with the lighting of the menorah, which featured both a bulb and tiki torch, before Levy took a few minutes to hand out chocolate gelt to younger attendees.