Union Square shone with holiday spirit Sunday when the grand menorah was lit in celebration of the fourth night of Chanukah. Burning bright in front of the giant Christmas tree, San Francisco’s 22-year-old “Mama Menorah” brought cheers of joy from the large, diverse crowd, some of whom had waited for hours to see the sunset ceremony.
“I really enjoy watching Jewish people being active and fun-loving,” said Nora Pitegoff of Florida as she watched audience members swaying to the live rock band.
“It’s good to see that we truly enjoy and understand the Festival of Lights.”
The Union Square menorah-lighting — the first outdoor menorah-lighting celebration ever outside of Israel — began in 1975 when the late rock promoter Bill Graham built and donated the huge menorah. Rabbi Yosef Langer of Chabad of San Francisco has been climbing into the cherry picker to be hauled up to light the candles every year since.
“From the menorah in your window, to the Bill Graham Menorah in Union Square, we can light up the darkness and bring the light into the streets,” said Langer.
The celebration ran from noon to 8 p.m., with craft booths, latke stands and blue cotton-candy stands lining the paths. As Jewish rock bands such as Rebbe Soul jammed on the large stage beneath the menorah, Langer danced beside them, tallit blowing in the breeze. Later, as an electric version of Avinu Malkenu played in the background, the rabbi carried a burning torch through the crowd as participants lit their own foil-wrapped candles and passed the flame on to others nearby.
Among the special guests was Mayor Willie Brown, who recalled the miracle of Chanukah and encouraged the crowd to pass the good will on to others.
“In each of the days [of Chanukah]…we should commit ourselves to making sure that our fellow human beings in San Francisco and all over the world are treated with the same dignity, the same respect, with which we would like to be treated,” Brown said.
“And then when we celebrate, we’ll celebrate because human kind will have looked out for itself.”