Sharon gathers to light menorah

SHARON — In an ecumenical atmosphere, the menorah on the Town Green was lit Sunday evening, Dec. 14, for the start of Hanukkah.

Carl Chaiet, who has been marking the Jewish holiday for several years, noted the candelabra used to observe the Festival of Lights, stands between the town’s Christmas tree and the creche, the latter sharing an electrical connection with it.

During the lighting ceremony, attended by close to 30 people, Chaiet lit the first candle. He had found the pieces of a candelabra about 20 years ago in his father’s basement, saved from a closed synagogue. As an artist, he saw the opportunity to reconstruct the disassembled piece of brass and bronze and erect it on the Green, with the approval of the then-Board of Selectmen.

Since then, he and his wife, Selectman Lynn Kearcher, lead a ceremony on the first night of Hanukkah. An additional light goes on each following night.

Ruth Epstein

“The celebration of Hanukkah is a celebration of strength, determination and resilience,” he said. “Each year the message seems pertinent to all of us and we invite all faiths to join in the lighting.” One woman noted the importance of that message more so this year because of the mass shooting that took place in Australia that weekend with the killing of several people celebrating Hanukkah.

Chaiet recited some prayers and led the group in singing holiday songs. Since the Hanukkah miracle involved oil, it is customary to eat foods fried in oil. A favorite is the potato latke. Kearcher gave out their version—bags of potato chips—along with samples of circular pieces of chocolate wrapped in gold, known as Hannukah gelt, another holiday treat.