All are welcome to attend the second annual menorah lighting on Dec. 17 at 5 p.m. in the atrium at Tom Davies Square.
Hosted by the Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue, an unaffiliated community-led synagogue in Sudbury, the now annual event began just last year.
Synagogue board president Emily Caruso Parnell told attendees in 2024 that in the face of rising antisemitism, “putting a menorah in a window has become an act of bravery in a way I couldn't have imagined a couple of years ago.”
“The solution to antisemitism is not to hide,” she said.
In Hebrew, the word menorah means “lamp.”
The ancient menorah stems from when the Jewish people were told by an emperor that they could not practice their religion.
The menorah had seven branches — one for each day — and it burned in the temple in what was then Judea, a small area caught in the middle of conflict between the Egyptian empire and the Greek-Assyrian empire.
The Jewish faith holds that one day’s worth of oil miraculously lasted for eight days.
That’s why the Hanukkah menorah, called a “hanukkiyah” has nine candles: one for each of the eight days, and one to light the rest.
One additional oil wick or candle is lit each night to celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah.
You can find more information about the menorah lighting here.