Chabad to host menorah lightings in Dewey and Rehoboth

Chabad of Southern Delaware will light a public 9-foot menorah erected at the Baywalk in Dewey Beach at 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 29, followed by a community celebration for the fifth night of Hanukkah.

Entertainment for all ages includes festive music and a strolling magician, as well as hot drinks and a selection of traditional Hanukkah foods.

“At this fraught time for the Jewish community, with war in Israel and American Jews facing a major rise in antisemitism, this year we are doing more to celebrate Hanukkah with joy and Jewish pride,” said Rabbi Sholom Vogel. “Adding another location for a public menorah, we donated a beautiful 9-foot LED menorah to the City of Rehoboth.”

Gov.-elect Matt Meyer will join the lighting ceremony set for 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 1, at the bandstand in Rehoboth Beach.

This Hanukkah, Vogel said, Sussex County is seeing a surge in public displays of the holiday and Jewish identity, with many more families and individuals planning to light their menorahs in visible places such as their doors or windows.

”This increase of light should encourage all of us to do our part in adding light into the world and expel the darkness,” said Vogel.

For more information, go to JewishSouthernDelaware.com.