These lights will not readily go off.
This month, a “miracle” menorah was discovered in the debris of a collapsed synagogue in Mariupol, Ukraine. The menorah was lit during Hanukkah by an Eastern Orthodox Christian landlord who refused to let the custom die away.
The 5-foot-tall iron menorah has been a fixture at the synagogue for ten years after a community member donated it. When the place of worship was damaged by Russian bombers this spring, however, worshipers abandoned up hope for its repair.
In mid-December, right before Hanukkah, the building’s landlord, Andrey Zhrenko, made an insightful discovery.
“I sincerely feel that it is a miracle, and I did as I felt compelled to. I did not give it a great deal of thought. The 53-year-old Zhrenko told The Post, “I believed it was necessary.”
Zhrenko stated that he felt impelled to safeguard the menorah, which he believed might be stolen by scrap metal thieves.
Each night of Hanukkah, a menorah discovered amid the ruins of Mariupol, Ukraine, has being illuminated.
Therefore, he transported the holiday candelabrum to his father-in-residence law’s just outside Mariupol, where he has been lighting it every night.
“The menorah had survived and practically waited for me for so long that I felt I couldn’t leave it there,” Zhrenko added.
Mendel Cohen, the sole rabbi of Mariupol, who now resides in Beersheba, Israel, stated that he had encouraged the menorah lighting after being approached by Zhrenko and had been advising him on the right holiday customs.
The 5-foot-tall iron menorah has been a fixture at the synagogue for ten years after a community member donated it.
“The majority of the individuals in my town have lost everything. “They lost everything, and then we received this photograph from Mariupol showing that the menorah had survived; it was a divine sign,” Cohen said.
“[Andrey] told me that he burst into tears when he discovered the menorah. He was unable to believe it. The entire structure collapsed. The heat was so intense that even metal melted. The Menorah is a metal structure. The menorah not only survived, but also retained its original form. It was the same as previously, said Cohen.
Mariupol, a city on the shore of the Sea of Azov, was previously home to at least 1,500 Jews. The capital city in the contested Donetsk province of Ukraine has been devastated by the Russian invasion of the country. Today, it remains under Russian rule, and the Jewish population has decreased to approximately 100 people.
The lone synagogue in Mariupol was run by Chabad, a Hasidic Jewish movement whose influential deceased leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was born in Ukraine and resided in Brooklyn.
Cohen, who spent eighteen years in Mariupol, maintains contact with the local people and arranges for food, medicine, and relief to be provided whenever possible. He hopes to be able to return one day.
“We miss Mariupol, and I would love to return there, but we must wait for the right moment,” he remarked.
»‘Miracle’ menorah discovered in the rubble of a destroyed Ukrainian synagogue and lit for Hanukkah«