Monday, December 10, 2012
Rabbi Mendel Rubashkin of Chabad of Brandon was on hand to light the large menorah in the Restaurant Courtyard at the Westfield Brandon shopping mall Dec. 9. There, he talked about the universal meaning of Hanukkah, for people of all religions.
Rabbi Mendel Rubashkin of Chabad of Brandon, at the menorah lighting at Westfield Brandon on Dec. 9, talked about the greater meaning of Hanukkah, which marks the miracle of oil enough to burn for one day, instead lasting for eight. "It's a universal message, Chanukah, it doesn't have to be a religious one," he said. "Who doesn't oppose persecution, and support the rights of the minority, if they're being oppressed by the majority?" Hanukkah, he added, "is about spreading the message of hope." On hand to hear that message were members of the Valencia Lakes West Women's Club, who joined in front of the menorah with other members of the public to witness the lighting. "I love it," said Debbie Kassel, who moved to Florida from Los Angeles …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The public is invited when Chabad of Brandon on Dec. 9, at the Westfield Brandon shopping center, lights the town’s tallest menorah. Also on tap: hot latkes, Hannukkah music and dancing, chocolate gelt, Tony the Balloon Guy and face painting.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- D'Ann White
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Saturday, December 8, 2012
From sunset Dec. 8 through nightfall Dec. 16, Hanukkah will be celebrated for eight days and nights. Chabad of Brandon invites the Greater Brandon community to celebrate the "Festival of Lights" at its annual Menorah Lighting Ceremony. The 2012 lighting is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 9, at 4:30 p.m., in the outdoor Restaurant Courtyard at the Westfield Brandon shopping mall. The event will feature Brandon's tallest menorah, Tony the Balloon Guy, face painting, hot latkes, chocolate gelt and Hanukkah music and dancing. Observing the Festival of Lights goes hand-in-hand with making special Hanukkah foods. For Hanukkah recipes, as well as facts about Hanukkah, how to play dreidel and a menorah lighting guide, visit Chabad of Brandon online. …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
At the menorah lighting at the Westfield Brandon shopping mall in Brandon, a rabbi's daughter sings the classic song about her dreidel. After, the community joins in other traditional Hanukkah songs.
Rochel Rubashkin stood strong and sang with her heart at the menorah lighting at the Westfield Brandon shopping mall on Dec. 9. There, members of Chabad of Brandon, along with the passersby, took time to remember the reason for the season of Hanukkah celebration. Rubashkin's father, Mendel, is the pastor of Chabad of Brandon, who had the honor of lighting the menorah under clear skies in the Restaurant Courtyard, next to a series of small Christmas trees and a gigantic wreath. "This is wonderful, I'm so happy that the management of the mall is allowing it," said Patty Hibsher, in attendance with the Valencie Lakes West Women's Club. "It's giving me a sense of my heritage." With her was Barbara Wax, who noted that while the Greater …
Friday, February 17, 2012
A parade Feb. 12 welcomed the completion of a newly scribed Torah in the Greater Brandon area, the result of an 18-month campaign to raise funds and commission a Torah for Chabad of Brandon.
More than 100 people, including rabbis from throughout the country, were on hand in Greater Brandon on Feb. 12 to witness the culmination of an 18-month campaign to raise funds for and then commission a new Torah for Chabad of Brandon. Formed in 2004, Chabad of Brandon had been using a loaned Torah for its Saturday services, according to an article written by D'Ann White, editor of the Bloomingdale-Riverview Patch. As reported, members 18 months ago began raising the money needed to purchase a Torah of their own. With the funding in hand, scribes armed with only quill pens and a specially mixed natural ink spent a year re-creating the more than 300,000 handwritten characters that make up Chabad of Brandon's new Torah scroll. Members …
