Ari (left) and Shana celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with Chabad of Cole Valley, which staged a 3-mile bicycle ride near Golden Gate Park. Nine bicycles with LED-emblazoned menorahs took part in the ride, with Rabbi Nosson Potash and his decked-out Chabad “mitzvah cycle” in the lead position.
For the second night of Hanukkah, the famous Haight-Ashbury intersection in San Francisco was the site of a Chabad menorah lighting. Here, one of the 30 or so attendees lights a candle; later, latkes were handed out to the homeless.
The JCC of San Francisco kicks off its celebration of Hanukkah with a first-night lighting. Staff member Sarah Stickel is doing the honors. photo/courtesy of jccsf
More than 400 people showed up to ride the first-ever Hanukkah train through the streets of Santa Cruz. Tickets sold out for Chabad by the Sea’s fifth-night event, which included a menorah lighting near the boardwalk and decorated vintage excursion cars.
Chabad of Monterey collected hundreds of canned goods and stacked them into a “can-orah” (as Rabbi Dovid Holtzberg called it) for the fifth night. The canned goods were donated to local food pantries.
Chabad of Tri-Valley hosts a fourth-night lighting in front of the Bankhead Theater in downtown Livermore. A top-hatted Mayor John Marchand lights a candle, with performer Isaac Zones and Rabbi Raleigh Resnick standing nearby.
Chabad of San Francisco’s 39th annual lighting of the Bill Graham Menorah in Union Square. photo/alan sheckter