Toppled by the wind, big menora glows again
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Toppled by the wind, big menora glows again

By Debra Rubin January 4, 2010, 12:00 am Edit
Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe, right, is joined by Richard Knauer and Leonard Posnock as the state’s largest menora is finally lit for the fourth night of Hanukka.
Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe, right, is joined by Richard Knauer and Leonard Posnock as the state’s largest menora is finally lit for the fourth night of Hanukka.

The state’s largest menora, located in Monroe, was finally lit for the fourth night of Hanukka after toppling over during a storm just before the start of the holiday.

The large giant aluminum structure, located on state “open space” property at the intersection of Perrineville and Prospect Plains roads, blew over on Dec. 9. It damaged a traffic light, and dashed plans by its sponsor, the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe, for a Dec. 11 ceremony honoring Holocaust survivors.

“For whatever reason, it wasn’t meant to be,” said Chabad’s Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky. “But we were able to repair it and get it back up. Even though we had to wait until the fourth night, people were very touched. It really brought a sense of pride because of its sheer size. People were calling me to tell me how inspiring it was.”

At 32 feet tall and 21 feet wide, the menora is the maximum size allowed by Halacha, or Jewish law, said Zaklikovsky. It was modeled after the Chabad menora in Washington’s Ellipse Park, near the White House. He said it symbolizes the connection between America’s protection of religious liberty and the fight for religious freedom depicted in the Hanukka story.

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