Sharing Message of Hanukkah

Watching the crowd of several hundred people gather Sunday to celebrate Hanukkah at Fashion Island, Eva Atimsky smiled in awe at the sight--something she never would have seen in her home country.

Atimsky emigrated 10 years ago from Uzbekistan, a part of the former Soviet Union, where the practice of religion was simply banned.

“I’m so excited,” said the 52-year-old woman who now lives in La Habra. “We never celebrated it like this. When I was living there, we didn’t celebrate any religious holiday openly. We only worshiped quietly at home. Just recently have they opened up the churches and synagogues there.”

Hanukkah, which began at sundown Sunday and runs for eight days, commemorates the ancient Jewish fight for religious freedom. It marks the rededication of the Jerusalem temple after traditionalist Jews defeated the Syrian Greeks in 165 BC.

“The message of Hanukkah is for everyone,” said Rabbi Alter Tenenbaum of Chabad Chai Center in Irvine. “It stands for triumph of good over evil. This is a way for all people to identify with it.”

The seventh annual event, sponsored by the center, was highlighted by the guest appearance of talk radio host Laura Schlessinger. The word Hanukkah also means education and dedication, which is why Schlessinger was chosen as the honorary guest to light the menorah this year, the rabbi said.

“In a time when children and youth are growing up without a sense of values, Dr. Laura has gone back to the basics, the Ten Commandments. . . . She serves as a beacon of light of morality,” he said.

Schlessinger, who doles out advice and a message of stern morality on her controversial radio show, said she and her family are recent converts to Judaism.

Though Hanukkah is considered a minor holiday in the Jewish faith, “it has a powerful meaning for me,” she said. “We have a 4,000-year history. . . . So many people have sacrificed so much so we can be here freely today.”

Many of the festivity’s participants were also followers of the tough-talking family and marriage counselor. Some clutched copies of Schlessinger’s new book, “The 10 Commandments: The Significance of God’s Law in Everyday Life,” hoping to catch her at a book signing afterward.

“I think people who criticize her haven’t listened to her long enough,” said Deanna Socoloske of Aliso Viejo. “She’s not saying she hasn’t made mistakes herself. She does have very definite views, but when you talk about morals and values, you have to.”