MSN120220-final-lowres

4 | December 2, 2020 | MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS NEWS
malibusurfsidenews.com
POSTED TO malibusurfsidenews.com
Chabad of Malibu’s menorah: Providing light, love for 25 years
6
DAYS AGO
BARBARA BURKE
Staff Reporter
A tradition for 25 years,
the Chabad of Malibu menorah
will light the way for
local Jews — while encouraging
everyone to “Lighten
Up” and “Celebrate Freedom”
— soon at the corner
of Webb Way and Pacific
Coast Highway.
“Rabbi Levi Cunin
and his wife, Sarah, have
brought the lights of kindness
and goodwill to the
Malibu community for decades,”
Kian Shulman told
Malibu Surfside News as
she discussed the genesis
of a large menorah every
Hanukkah.
“I was happy to encourage
Rabbi Cunin, 25 years
ago, to bring the message
of light, hope and miracles
that the menorah represents
to Malibu.”
Rabbi Cunin chimed in
with his recollections of the
menorah.
“It’s pretty amazing to
think about the impact of
Malibu’s menorah display
over the years,” Cunin said.
“I remember the first year
that we put our menorah out
along Pacific Coast Highway
… I spoke with the
people who ran the creche,
and we discussed that it is
surprising that the Christians
don’t celebrate Hanukkah
because the early
Christians celebrated Hanukkah.
Those Christians
who were also practicing
Judaism were lighting the
menorah.”
Mary Kuepper, who
started the tradition of Malibu’s
creche, accepted that
concept, the rabbi recalled,
“and thought that the historical
account was very
interesting.”
The rabbi also shared
how the menorah was designed.
“I spoke to a local artist
in the community, Nili
Leemon, and she designed
our menorah, which is still
on the roof of the Chabad
and it is beautiful,” he said.
“Nili made the menorah
look like a piece of art, like
a tree.”
This year, the menorah
will be at the creche site, as
it has been for the last couple
of years, Rabbi Cunin said.
“We will have the menorah
up in time for Hanukkah,
which begins on Dec. 10. We
will try to get it up sooner
than that, but we have to do
some repairs to it.”
High winds, he noted,
damaged the menorah last
year.
Surfside News queried
about the significance of
the menorah.
“The menorah represents
the victory of light over
darkness. It’s the testament
to the fact that, eventually,
the light always per-
The menorah belonging
to Chabad of Malibu will
soon go up at Webb Way
and Pacific Coast Highway.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
severes,” Cunin said. “The
idea is that each one of us is
a menorah and we are meant
to serve the best purposes
in the world — to generate
light — it’s tantamount to
us being a source of light to
others, a source of goodness
and kindness sharing peace,
love and God’s joy with the
community.”
For Shulman, the menorah
is a symbol of hope.
“May everyone’s miracle
prayer be fulfilled this
year and may our hearts
unify creating the miracle
of loving kindness for all
our brothers and sisters, no
matter what religious affiliation,”
she said.
“Malibu is a mixed community
of Christians, those
who are Jewish, Buddhists,
Hindus and atheists. However,
we are all united under
the rainbow of love.”
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Hanukkah is upon us
RABBI LEVI Y. CUNIN
Chabad of Malibu
POSTED TO malibusurfsidenews.com
Everything is different!
So much of the “usual” is
gone. The good news is,
the eight-day Festival of
Lights, known as Hanukkah
is upon us! Starting Dec. 10,
Jews around the world will
begin kindling the lights of
the menorah and celebrating
Hanukkah. Yes, this year
will be different, but that
can’t get in the way of us
being present to the joy of
this holiday and the important
universal message of
Hanukkah.
Indeed, whether you are
of the Jewish faith or not,
the story of Hanukkah is one
with profound lessons for
all humanity. It’s about the
victory of light over darkness.
Hanukkah is observed
by kindling candles for eight
consecutive nights. When we
light the candles, we meditate
on the similarities our
souls have with the flame.
The force of life within each
of us provides us with our inner
flame and the ability to
spread light. Our light can
illuminate our homes and
our collective candles can illuminate
the world.
This candle journey reveals
to us that just as one
single candle is capable of
lighting countless others.
By the same token, when
our own candle shines we
become a beacon of light
for others.
For the past 26 years,
Chabad of Malibu has been
hosting public Hanukkah
events. This year, we will
6
DAYS AGO
be hosting nightly Facebook
Live events, so that
we can gather together and
celebrate online. We also
have plenty of menorahs
available for you and your
family. Please visit us online
www.jewishmalibu.com for
all your Hanukkah needs.
There is a great deal of
darkness around us. Our
light is needed even more.
Let us undertake our role as
candles so that together we
will illuminate and transform
the darkness in our
corner of the world. Imagine
the effect ... a world
filled with true, selfless,
light and love.
Happy Hanukkah!
For more information, or to
receive a menorah, please email
office@jewishmalibu.com.