It’s not every day you see a huge menorah on top of a car while at a gas station. But that’s what happened last week at the BP gas station at the corner of Ohio 13 and Longview Avenue.
Chaim Eilenberg and Zalmy Goldberg have been traveling the United States attracting attention to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah through a large wooden nine branched candelabrum attached to the top of their car.
In addition to spreading understanding of the Jewish holiday, the pair had just visited Jewish inmates at Richland Correctional Institution (RiCI) to celebrate the sacred time with the inmates.
“We are volunteering for the Aleph Institute based out of Bell Harbor, Florida, ” Eilenberg said. “They send out volunteers to different cities and states that have a lot of Jewish inmates in prison and we go and for example, now is Hanukkah, so we’re going and spreading the light of Hanukkah.”
Eilenberg and Goldberg attend the Yeshiva Rabbinical Institute of New England. The school is located in New Haven, Conn. They said they take traditional Hanukkah elements, such as menorahs and jelly donuts with them into the correctional institutions to share with the inmates.
In addition to RiCI, the duo said they have also visited 16 to 18 other prisons in the state.
“We met with about five dudes over in Richland,” Goldberg said.
After filling their car up for gas, the Brooklyn, New York natives said they were on their way back home and then to their school in New Haven, Conn.
Eilenberg said the Aleph Institute was started by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The teacher said, “There should be volunteers going around assisting the Jewish inmates and giving them what they need when it comes to different holidays.”
Over the past year, the pair said they have traveled throughout the mid-western region of the United States visiting inmates in prisons.
The pair was on a break from school for the Hanukkah celebration (Nov. 27 – Dec. 5). Instead of spending time with their families, the men volunteered their time to spend it with Jewish men who are in prison.
“Instead of going on vacation, we go out to help Jews and to bring them closer to Judaism,” Goldberg said. “And spread the light of Hanukkah to them.”
So, why the mammoth menorah on top of their car?
“Part of the holiday of Hanukkah is to spread out and perform the miracle that happened back in the day of Hanukkah,” Goldberg said. “During the 1970’s, the Chavad Lubavitch movement came up with the great idea that the best way to spread the light of Hanukkah is by putting it on top of a car.” They and some friends built the menorah complete with lights and traditional Jewish music which surely attracts attention.
“Everyone on the highway loves it,” Eilenberg said. “They’re all waving to us. They’re all smiling and giving us thumbs up. They love it.”
Jennifer Gillece, correctional warden assistant at RiCI, confirmed the pair had been at the facility to celebrate Hanuakkah with Jewish inmates.
“We do have a big pool of volunteers from the religious communities,” she said. “So whatever the religious base, we try to recognize all of that and have people from the community come in to have services.”
Goldberg and Elienberg said they sincerely enjoy meeting and celebrating with the Jewish inmates they meet. It was their first time at RiCI.
“The inmates loved it,” Elienberg said. “There have been no negative comments. They were looking forward to having us.
“The purpose our visits are to bring light and hope to people enduring a dark time in their lives. The miracle of Hanukkah lifts up their spirits and gives them hope and the courage and strength to go forward”, said Chaim Eilenberg.
“About 10 years ago, someone came up with the great idea that the best way to spread the light of Chanukah is by putting it on top of a car,” explained Zalmy Goldberg.
