Ice menorah kicks off Hanukkah
Hundreds gather to watch sculptor create candelabrum for eight-day commemoration
A menorah emerged from a 500-pound block of ice Sunday afternoon as Rolando De La Garza, an ice sculptor, wielded a chainsaw with a flourish to carve out the shape of the candelabrum. Hundreds of people gathered in awe in Discovery Green as a remix of Adam Sandler’s “The Hanukkah Song” pumped in the background.
For the first night of the eightday celebration, Chabad Outreach of Houston held a free event on the Discovery Green featuring face painting, balloon artists and Hanukkah arts and crafts. Genesis Steakhouse arrived at 8 a.m. to begin smoking $10,000 worth of beef ribs and lamb shanks under the eye of a kosher supervisor; the DLG Ice Factory began preparing the ice blocks for the menorah days in advance.
Rabbi Moishe Traxler, who organized the event, said Hanukkah is the most “public facing ” celebration in the Jewish faith. He added that public celebrations of the holiday are getting bigger and more widespread every year. Traxler sees the festival of light, which celebrates a menorah that miraculously burned for eight days, as particularly meaningful in the wake of the deadliest attack on Jews in American history, which left 11 people dead in late October in Pittsburgh.
“When there is tragedy, push away the darkness with light,” he said. “This is, in a very public way, bringing the message that America was founded on — of freedom to practice one’s religion without oppression.”
For some people, the menorah lighting in Discovery Green was one of many Hanukkah celebrations they’re planning to attend this week, and others just stumbled upon the event. Tenyear-old Melanie Zendejo said she came to the park because Santa Claus was there that afternoon. “And then we walked over here and saw this,” she said, as she worked on a picture of a drei-
del.
“You have people of all faiths celebrating — I think that’s nice,” said Gittel Francis, who is Jewish. “With the events happening in the world today, I think any bit of light that you can add to the world — good light, positive light — is what is needed right now.”
After the ice menorah was completed by De La Garza, better known in the ice sculpting world as the Rev. Butter, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, went on stage to address the crowd.
“No one, no one should be denied their faith and their ability to worship without danger, devastation or being harmed. This is a free nation to love your faith,” she said.
“What does this holiday have to do with someone who is not Jewish?” Traxler asked. He saw an answer in the outpouring of support from people of all faiths in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Pittsburgh.
“We’re one humanity,” he said. “Every human being has to care for another person. … One candle can push away a lot of darkness. Everybody here is a candle.”
And with that, prayers were sung and the candle representing the first night of Hanukkah was lit at sunset. It twinkled brightly in an ice bed, the fire and water coexisting.