Holiday Marks a ‘Milestone’ with Ridgewood’s First Menorah Lighting

Rising above a sea of umbrellas and filling an otherwise dreary night, song filled the packed atmosphere in a corner of Van Neste Park as a community gathered to mark not only a holiday, but also a celebration of its diversity.

Ridgewood marked the beginning of an annual tradition with its first public menorah lighting Wednesday night in celebration of the first night of Hanukkah.

“I almost can’t even put it in words,” said Nicole Cohen, one of four women who began conceiving of the night two years ago.

She and Michele Opper, Esther Zuckerman and Lara Cohen organized the fundraising, research and planning to add the village to the many neighboring towns that light a menorah each year.

“We all have children in the schools, and we had all been asked by our children at various points…where’s our menorah?” Cohen said.

The four approached Rabbi David Fine of Temple Israel. He spoke about the menorah with Ridgewood’s interfaith clergy, who joined community members in calling for a strong display of religious diversity when it came before the village council for approval earlier this year.

“We have a very strong tradition here we’ve been developing of celebrating cultural and religious diversity,” said Fine. “It was an opportunity to really bring everybody in the community together.”

Many remember, or have heard second-hand of a time when a menorah, in itself a symbol of religious freedom, would have been unthinkable in a public park. As told by residents and documented in a historical society exhibit now running, in a few generations the village has grown from a town with outsiders to an inclusive, more welcoming community.

“There was a time when Jews and other minorities couldn’t live in Ridgewood,” Fine said. “And to have this celebration really shows how much Ridgewood has grown.”

A more informal gathering will accompany the lighting of the menorah over the eight nights of Hanukkah, and the celebration is planned to be an annual occasion.

“It’s an important milestone in the evolution of Ridgewood,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “Ridgewood is already known to be a town that takes its diversity seriously, but this really takes it to the next level.”

To those standing closely shoulder-to-shoulder, unfazed by the wind and rain as the first bulb lit up, the history of the occasion was readily apparent.

“It’s more powerful than words,” Cohen said, “to see it for my children and have them see they have representation in Ridgewood.”