Sandy-Hit Shul Menorah Heading to White House
Image by courtesy of temple israel
Temple Israel of Long Beach, the Long Island synagogue damaged in Hurricane Sandy, will send a 90-year-old menorah that survived the storm to the White House for a Hanukkah party hosted by President Barack Obama on December 13, according to the New York Times.
The shul lost six torahs, incurred ten feet of flooding and an estimated $5 million of damages in the superstorm.
Earlier this month, the Forward reported that Temple Israel was unsure of what help the Federal Emergency Management Agency or his insurance company could provide in helping rebuild the synagogue. Temple Israel was also one of 14 synagogues in the New York area that incurred $100,000 or more in estimated damages.
Rabbi David Bauman, who is also a reserve chaplain in the Marins Corps, will accompany the menorah to Washington. In 2010, the White House chose a menorah found in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina for their annual party.
Bauman told the Times the gift illustrates the synagogues determination to bounce back from the crippling blow inflicted by Sandy.
“The story of Hanukkah is about the underdog becoming victorious,” he told the paper. “And that’s our goal. We will rebuild.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
