By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Two menorah-lighting ceremonies celebrating Hanukkah on Monday helped to bring a little light to the community in a time of darkness.

The Jewish holiday, known as the Festival of Lights, was marked by gatherings as two large menorahs were lighted — one at the downtown corner of Main Street and Post Road East, and the other, later, at Compo Acres shopping center.

Monday was the fifth day of Hanukkah, which is observed each of its eight nights by lighting a candle on a menorah. It commemorates a miracle that occurred when the Maccabees, rededicating the temple in Jerusalem after its desecration, had only enough oil to light a candle to last for a day, but instead it burned eight days.

Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn of TCS (the conservative synagogue of Westport), referencing that miracle, said, “This is the time we can use a few more miracles.”

The rabbi, who recently returned from a trip to Israel, spoke about the families of hostages held by Hamas, which Oct. 7 launched terror attacks on Israel and took hundreds of people hostage. He told the downtown gathering he had witnessed what he called “participation circles,” where speakers share memories of captured relatives.

“They take turns telling about their loved ones,” he said, remarking on a grandmother who spoke “about the miracles of old. We need to continue to pray for miracles today.”

Selectwoman Candice Savin climbed a ladder to light the towering downtown menorah, and the crowd of more than 50 people sang traditional blessings.

Before the group dispersed, Rabbi Greg Wall, of Beit Chaverim synagogue, asked the crowd to join him in applauding the Westport Police Department.

“This is a very perilous time to be Jewish in the U.S.,” he said, referencing political divisions that have erupted over the war between Israel and Hamas, and a surge in domestic antisemitic incidents.

The Jewish community feels safe in Westport because of the care and protection of local police, he said.

Several local Jewish congregations traditionally participate in the annual menorah-lighting event, planned in collaboration with the Westport Downtown Association.

The second menorah lighting, held at Compo Acres, was sponsored by the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life of Connecticut, and featured music and refreshments.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.