On the cold Winnipeg, Manitoba, afternoon of December 19, 2019, some 50 people, both military and civilian, took part in the lighting of the electric Chanukah Menorah located at the northwest corner of the parking lot across from 17 Wing Headquarters.
It was the second year in a row that the ceremony took place. The idea for a Menorah construction and installation came from 17 Wing's first Rabbi, Captain Arnold Noteh Glogauer, who organized the event. 17 Wing Chaplain Major Kevin Olive and Acting Wing Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Lonnie Fleischhacker also participated. Lieutenant-Colonel Fleischhacker made some brief remarks to the attendees before flipping the switch to light the steel Menorah, which was built at 17 Mission Support Squadron (MSS).
According to “Celebration”, a brochure provided by Padre Glogauer, today's nine-branch Chanukah Menorah is a symbol of igniting sparks, which celebrates the miracle of light. “In 140 BCE, after a fierce battle for religious freedom against the Greeks, who were the controlling super power at the time, sovereignty was regained in Jerusalem and the land of Israel,” Padre Glogauer said. “It normally took seven days to procure new oil from the orchards of Tekoah. One jug of pure oil was found, hidden beneath the floor, and though it was a jug with just enough oil for one night, it miraculously lasted for eight days.”
He added that light, brightness, and radiance are the metaphors we use when we wish to speak…
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