Students Put Messages Into Menorahs : Hanukkah: Rabbi makes creation of religious symbol lesson in Jewish law, as well as an opportunity for boys to convey personal feelings.

On the first day of Hanukkah, an international class of 11 students from the Emek Hebrew Academy gathered a few hours before Sunday’s sunset to light for the first time their handcrafted menorahs--the products of simultaneous lessons in woodworking and Jewish law.

Under the tutelage of Rabbi Eleazar Eidlitz, the students at the oldest Hebrew academy in the San Fernando Valley had spent the past week putting the finishing touches on their menorahs, some of which were designed to carry political and personal messages.

Twelve-year-old Pejman Behboudikha, who grew up in Iran, attached an inert World War II hand grenade and two machine gun bullets to his menorah as a plea for world peace.

“It represents (a hope) that they will stop the wars all over the world,” Pejman said. “It’s my idea of peace.”

After removing the grenade from the menorah’s pedestal and displaying its empty innards, Pejman explained that Eidlitz had bought it for him at an army surplus store. He said the gold chain that spanned the eight arms of his menorah was merely for decoration.

Akiva Greenfield said he also hoped to send a message of worldwide brotherhood with his menorah, which was shaped like a peace symbol and had the word shalom, or “peace,” engraved in it.

Nathan Kostant said the beautiful black-and-white marbled finish of his menorah was a statement of racial harmony.

Other boys placed the names of family members on each of the eight branches of the menorah, a sign of the importance of family in Judaism.

Hanukkah is an eight-day festival that commemorates the retaking of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. The lighting of the eight candles of the menorah, one for each day of Hanukkah, harks back to the story of the Maccabees, who were able to keep their lamps lighted during the rededication of the temple for eight days even though they had only enough oil for one.

The center space on the menorah is reserved for the “shamash,” a candle used to light the other candles or for such utilitarian purposes as reading and lighting one’s way in a dark room.

“Remember that you are part of a tradition that has a nonstop link from more than 2,100 years ago,” Eidlitz told his students before they lighted their candles. “You directly represent that link that has not been broken. The Hashmonean (the Maccabees) were not allowed to practice or study their religion, and we have that as we have students from Russia now whose parents have had the same experience.”

The Hanukkah ritual is shared by Jewish families worldwide. That sense of community was evident among the students, who worked side by side in class to construct their menorahs.

“Everyone has made a menorah and everyone was helping each other,” said Gregory Kalmanovich, from Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan. “The menorahs just weren’t made by one person.”

Jan Moore watched proudly as his son, Jason, stood behind his menorah. He said he was inspired by Eidlitz to make his own menorah when he was 18 at a rabbinical school in the Bay Area. He still has the menorah and said he planned to light it Sunday night with his family.

“The magic of Rabbi Eidlitz is really his ability to teach the boys so that they not only learn the laws of how to properly build a menorah so that it’s kosher, but they also learn to work together as a team,” Moore said.

After the menorahs were lighted and the boys chanted a traditional prayer, Eidlitz gave them some parting wisdom to help them deal with the gifts they would be receiving as part of the traditional celebration of Hanukkah.

“I wish you a great deal of success in the loot you will collect from your parents,” he said, “but I hope that you will remember the Torah connection.”