Holmdel’s Ice Menorah Lit

The Chabad Jewish center of Holmdel, New Jersey, celebrated Chanukah with the city’s first ice Menorah lighting, attended by Holmdel Mayor Serena DiMaso.

In about 90 minutes, sculptor Kim Phoung transformed 600 pounds of ice into an elegant menorah that was used for the Chabad Jewish Center’s Chanukah celebration Sunday afternoon.

Phoung, of Ice Illusions in Philadelphia, worked quickly with a chain saw and other power tools while a large crowd watched as he cut into the frozen slabs, creating a glistening symbol of eternal hope.

Rabbi Shmaya Galperin, executive director of the center, explained that Jewish law instructs us to steadily increase the Chanukah lights from night to night until we achieve the number eight. “One of the great lessons of the Chanukah holiday,” he says, “is to steadily intensify the positive impact we impart to our family, community and the world.”