Hanukkah was enthusiastically ushered in at Keyport Borough’s First Annual Public Menorah Lighting on the evening of Thursday, December 7. Beginning with a welcome address from Mayor Rose Araneo, the program continued under the direction of Rabbi Dovid Harrison of Congregation Beth Shalom of Red Bank. “Hanukkah is about spreading light and warmth where it’s needed, bringing light to darkness and warmth to the cold,” he said. “The message of Hanukkah is timely and relevant.” The Hanukkiah was then lit by Rabbinical Student Levi Crotoru visiting from Coral Springs, Florida. Chazan Jeffrey DiLucca provided a rousing selection of Hanukkiah songs, while doughnuts and gelt were distributed along with Jewish calendars and pamphlets about the holiday, and all who came were given gift certificates and raffle “passports” to Keyport businesses provided by the Keyport Bayfront Business Cooperative. “It was an honor to officiate over the first public Menorah lighting in Keyport,” Rabbi Harrison said.
the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown