L.B. Menorah Lightings Overlap with Thanksgiving

This story was updated at 11:19 a.m. 11.27.13.

That Hanukkah will coincide with Thanksgiving for the first time since 1888 is not lost on Rabbi Eli Goodman, who will lead one of two public menorah lightings in Long Beach.

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The spiritual leader of Bach Jewish Center at 210 Edwards Blvd., Goodman said the two holidays have much in common.

“Thanksgiving comes packed with a deep narrative; a narrative about an arduous journey to escape religious persecution for freedom in a new land, the establishment of a democratic charter and the sense of Divine providence that carried those refugees through their plight,” Goodman wrote in a message about the upcoming holidays. “That's Chanukah, as well: a narrative deeply embedded in the collective Jewish psyche of how we fought back against religious oppression in our own land, earned our freedom and thanked G-d for the miracles.”

Goodman will put kindling to the first menorah candle at the annual “Festival of Lights” ceremony at Kennedy Plaza that starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The ceremony, billed as the largest public Hanukkah celebration with the largest menorah on Long Island, will feature a musical performance by a local Hebrew school, as well as donuts, potato latkes and minted Hanukkah-Thanksgiving $2 bills.

Following Wednesday's event, the menorah will be lit each night of Hanukkah at the following times:

• 11/28 - 6 p.m.

• 11/29 - 3:30 p.m.

• 11/30 - 7 p.m.

• 12/1 - 5 p.m.

• 12/2 - 6 p.m.

• 12/3 - 6 p.m.

• 12/4 - 6 p.m.

For this year’s Hanukkah season, Goodman has initiated “The Great Menorah Giveaway,” a community-wide program to provide free menorahs for those who may need them, and throughout the eight-day holiday, Bach volunteers and children will visit hospitals and nursing facilities to celebrate with their residents.

Meanwhile, the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce will hold a menorah and Christmas tree lightings at 5 p.m. Dec. 2 at West Park Avenue and Edwards Boulevard. The organization’s annual ceremony was originally planned for Nov. 30, but the chamber rescheduled the event to occur a half hour before the start of Boardwalk Lights, a city-backed initiative in which seasonal and nautical lights will line the new walkway from Magnolia to Long Beach boulevards.