Human Menorah, Refurbished Dreidel Welcome Hanukkah In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Doylestown celebrated the first night of Hanukkah with dancing, donuts and a beautifully refurbished giant dreidel.

Temple Judea brought the afternoon of fun to downtown Doylestown Sunday afternoon where youngsters formed a human menorah, decorated cookies and everyone danced and sang along to Hanukkah songs led by Dan Kahn, Temple Judea's resident musician.

Doylestown Borough Mayor Noni West welcomed the the public to the celebration recalling a day many years ago when a public celebration of Hanukkah would have been unthinkable.

“I grew up in Doylestown and there was not the diversity that there is here today,” she said. “And it is so wonderful to see the changes and the diversity that there is now. I thank Temple Judea for organizing this, educating the public and celebrating our diversity.”

State Senator Steve Santarsiero also joined the gathering to wish everyone a happy Hanukkah and to reflect on “this season of light that so many traditions share.

“This is a time for us to reflect on all the needs that are in the world and as Jews to continue to do the work of tikkun olam and to remember that our calling to do that is to spread light and to make this world a better place and to heal this world.

“And Hanukkah, thinking about the miracle that occurred, we should remember that it’s a challenge for all of us to make sure that we spread that light every day.”

As the celebration continued, the Temple’s Vice President of Community, Becky Bernstein, was busy handing out free donuts to the crowd.

Despite the December chill, Bernstein said she was feeling the “warmth and happiness of our community” as it celebrated the miracle of Hanukkah.

“I’m also feeling hope as we light the Hanukkah candles. It’s wonderful just to be together in a peaceful place and to celebrate Hanukkah - the Festival of Lights - and hope and peace for everyone.”

Bernstein added it was also wonderful to have the dreidel back and looking like new.

“It is a beautiful dreidel. It was a little damaged so it was refinished this year. It is looking beautiful and we are so excited for a dreidel to be in the middle of Doylestown to represent us.”

The man behind the refurbished dreidel is Noel Weiss, president of MBG/McBrick Building Group, which built the dreidel a decade ago.

“We were called by the Doylestown Business Alliance. They told me the dreidel was in need of refurbishment. We were going to do it after the season, but it really needed it so we did it right away.”

The paint on the dreidel had blistered over the past four years from exposure to the elements and was in need of refurbishment.

“It’s like anything. Every three or four years it needs to be repainted and touched up,” said Weiss.

Due to the cold temperatures, they had to relocate the dreidel to their shop, where it was refurbished by Chuck McGrath and returned to is pedestal within four days. The Doylestown Borough Public Works Department provided the transportation and the manpower to move the
decoration.

The dreidel’s brief four day absence didn’t go unnoticed by the community.

“We had a bunch of calls because everyone got concerned when the dreidel was missing,” said Weiss.

Rabbi Sigal couldn’t be happier to see the refurbished dreidel back in its place and sharing the miracle of Hanukkah with everyone who passes by.

“It’s wonderful for Temple Judea to be here on the public square celebrating with the support of the community,” said Rabbi Sigal. “The message of Hanukkah is the same as Christmas and Kwanzaa - it’s about bringing light. And what does light mean? It means hope and peace and love. We need to bring more of this into our lives.”