In the News

SPRINGFIELD -- The giant menorah in Springfield's Court Square was lit Monday in a ceremony to mark the second day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

City officials, the public and children and staff from the Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy attended.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, Mayor Domenic Sarno and Rabbi Chaim Kosofsky, of Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy, lit the menorah. Springfield city councilors Jesse Lederman and Timothy Ryan were in attendance.

The miracle celebrated on Hanukkah recalls the Maccabees, the small Jewish band of fighters who defeated the Greek army to reclaim the Jewish temple, and the ensuing lasting of a single day's worth of oil to keep a lamp lit for eight days in the re-dedication of the temple.