BY XAVIER E. MARTINEZ
Coral Gables resident Mitch Bierman gathered his wife Ana and two children at Ponce Circle Park on Monday night because he wanted them to celebrate Judaism.
Coming from a dual religion family, Bierman felt his kids needed to experience a tradition passed down within the Jewish community for thousands of years.
At the sixth annual community menorah lighting, more than 200 spectators were treated to jelly doughnuts and latkes, a traditional Jewish potato pancake, as they witnessed the kindling of the first two candles of Hanukkah representing the commencement of eight days of celebrations.
”Today’s turnout was beautiful. It is great to see people come out and be proud of their heritage,” said event coordinator Rabbi Avrohom Stolik. “The menorah is a symbol of unity and a symbol of religious freedom. We are very fortunate to live in a country where we are free to practice our religion.”
The addition of a bounce house, face painting and free Hanukkah presents brought lots of children this year.
”I came out because I wanted my kids to attend a public Hanukkah celebration,” Bierman said. “People around here like nice celebrations. Every time there is something in Ponce Circle, it always turns out a lot of people. This is a great neighborhood for this kind of thing.”
Special guests Mayor Don Slesnick and WTVJ-NBC6 news anchor Bob Mayer also took part in the festivities by assisting in the lighting of the 15-foot white menorah.
According to attorney Spencer Aronfeld, cohost of the event, the whole concept of the community lighting started during a conversation with Slesnick at, of all places, a Christmas party.
Over a glass of egg nog, Aronfeld joked with the mayor about Coral Gables having such an extensive Christmas park and no Hanukkah park. The mayor responded by saying there was no room in the budget for a giant menorah.
Aronfeld then said, “Well, if I buy it, will you put it up?”
”If you buy it, I will definitely find a place to put it,” Slesnick said.
Since then the festival has grown — attracting more spectators every year.
This year, however, the celebration had a slightly different tenor. A special memorial tribute to the victims of the Mumbai, India terrorist’s attacks accompanied the event. A moment of silence and the lighting of a memorial candle were done in honor of the more than 176 people who lost their lives Nov. 26.
”We felt because just a few short weeks ago the people of India experienced such a terrible tragedy this was an opportunity to bring the community together in respect,” Stolik said.
Rabbi Stolik, a Chabad movement devotee, lost two colleagues in the attacks. Chabad, an outreach organization geared toward attracting unaffiliated Jews, has centers all over the world. Their hub in Mumbai was targeted during the massacre. Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, ran the center.
”I knew Rabbi Holtzberg,” Stolik said. “He was an unbelievably selfless individual. He gave up the comforts of living in the U.S. to go live in an exhausting place to set up a beacon of light for people of all walks of life.”
The Gables’ menorah lighting was one of many around the U.S. honoring those who perished.
”The way you fight terror is not with bullets or guns. You fight terror with kindness. If we all chip in and light a candle in our own lives by doing more goodness and kindness, then we will prevail over the forces of evil and darkness,” Stolik said.
At the lighting ceremony, Aronfeld also assisted in organizing a toy drive for kids of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Because of a conversation he had with a former armed service member in his law office, Aronfeld and his friends have provided toys for the children of Florida soldiers that will not be with their parents this holiday season.
”I want to do something to bring the community together,” Aronfeld said. “We do not judge or discriminate. Everyone is welcome. It is me and my family’s way to give something back to the city of Coral Gables.”
As residents dined and danced to traditional Jewish music, the spirit of Hanukkah was felt throughout Fred B. Hartnett Ponce Circle Park.
– The Miami Herald
