Followers

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Building A Lego Menorah

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The Chabad Center for Jewish Awareness in Bellevue teamed up with the Mall at Green Hills to host a family Hanukkah festival Thursday.

The free event is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mall at Green Hills, 2126 Abbott Martin Road.

Shoppers will be able to construct Nashville's first menorah made entirely of thousands of Lego pieces. The Lego pieces will be donated to the Gordon Jewish Community Center preschool, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and Israeli children's charities.

The goal is to create a 10-foot tall menorah, which is recognized as a symbol of religious freedom, according to Rabbi Yitzchok Tiechtel of the Chabad Center for Jewish Awareness.

The Chabad Center for Jewish Awareness is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which is a branch of Hasidism.

The Hebrew word Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, means "dedication." The annual eight-day observance commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated.

More than 2000 years ago, Syrian-Greeks outlawed Jewish practices. A band of Jews under the leadership of a family called the Maccabees revolted and won. As they prepared to rededicate the temple, they found a small jar of oil that unexpectedly burned for eight days instead of one day.

Known as the "festival of lights," Hanukkah began at sundown Friday, Dec. 15, with the lighting of the first flame on a menorah. Jews light one candle each night for eight nights. Hanukkah ends Friday night.

For information or to sponsor a bucket of Lego pieces, call 646-5750.

No comments: