Chanukah on the River shows ‘beautiful sense of unity’ in S.A.
It wouldn’t be Hanukkah in San Antonio without mariachis playing “Hava Nagila” on a bridge over the river downtown.
On a crisp afternoon under bright sunshine, about 800 people converged on the Arneson River Theatre to watch musical performances and the lighting of a 9-foot menorah Sunday, marking the final night of the Jewish festival of lights.
The 21st annual Chanukah on the River, organized by Chabad Lubavitch of South Texas, commemorated the story of the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, when a one-day supply of oil was said to keep a candelabrum illuminated for eight days. It happened about 2,200 years ago, after a small Jewish militia defeated a powerful Greek army to reclaim the temple.
“We are still gathering all over the world to celebrate the miracle of a small flask of oil burning for eight days,” said Rabbi Chaim Block, who
leads the Chabad Center for Jewish Life & Learning, to the crowd.
Some wore yarmulkes, while others wore wintry wool caps. They munched doughnuts and other kosher snacks while dancing to a performance by Jewish pop singer Yoni Z. Tourists floating through on river barges joined in the dancing, as did the barge operators, even the ones wearing Santa hats.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg lit the candle in the middle of the menorah, called the shamash.
After the rest were lit, Rabbi Yossi Marrus, associate rabbi of the Chabad Center, led the crowd in a traditional Hebrew song, then the children’s dreidel song.
“We hope that people will walk away encouraged and proud that their tradition is being celebrated in the heart of San Antonio,” Block said. “For our children, that means the world.”
Kevin Salzburg-Felts, 38, came to the party with his Christian family and his Jewish husband. SalzburgFelts said he’d already been practicing Judaism for 17 years, but this year he took a DNA test that revealed his great-grandparents and grandmother were Jews who fled the pogroms in Europe for the United States.
His niece Nicole Olson, 29, said although their family is not Jewish, the children are proud to decorate Hanukkah cookies.
“We come here to celebrate both cultures,” Olson said.
Ariela Johnson, 33, whose family runs the Chabad Jewish Student Center at the University of Texas at Austin, came as she often does with her husband and eight children — one for each night of Hanukkah.
Her mother, Karen Cohen, visiting from Maryland, was impressed by the event.
“There’s a really beautiful sense of unity in the community,” Cohen said.
Seated at the theater’s front and center was a lifesize stuffed Mensch on a Bench, the Jewish answer to Elf on a Shelf. The mensch — named Moshe by its creators — is bearded, wearing a suit and a black hat.
Joe Hernandez, 43, the photographer for the conservative Agudas Achim Congregation, snapped photos of babies and families with Moshe. He was there with his wife and 9year-old son, Hayden, who called Chanukah on the River “a fun community event.”
“Even though we’re all from different synagogues, we all come together,” Joe Hernandez said. “The Jewish community is really strong here in San Antonio.”