Do public menorahs cheapen Hanukkah?

When Diana Raphael Carver of Snohomish takes her menorah out each year, she is reminded of eating potato pancakes at Hanukkah celebrations when she was a child, and looks forward to observing the holiday with her own daughter and 3-year-old granddaughter.

When she lights the menorah's candles, it's a time for reflection. That's why she doesn't like the idea of displaying a giant electric menorah at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

"It cheapens Hanukkah" and reduces the menorah to a decoration, said Carver, a retired advertising executive. "It takes away from what Hanukkah really means — a thanking of God and reminding us of the miracle that happened."

Carver is among other local Jews who, for a variety of reasons, say they disagree with the approach of a local rabbi who requested that the Port of Seattle install an 8-foot-tall electric menorah at the airport.

When Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky and his attorney couldn't get a definite answer from the Port they threatened legal action, sending the Port a draft of a 24-page lawsuit.

The Port took down its Christmas trees, prompting a torrent of angry e-mails and extensive media coverage. On Monday, the rabbi said he wouldn't file a lawsuit and Port staff put the trees back up.

There will be no menorah displayed this year, though the Port said Tuesday that it would form a committee early next year to determine how best to handle the issue.

Elsewhere around the Seattle area, there already are a number of menorahs in public areas — many of them given by Bogomilsky's group, Chabad-Lubavitch.

Thousands of people around the world have been proud to participate in public menorah lightings, according to Bogomilsky, who said his organization presents the menorahs to share the message of "religious freedom over oppression."

Rabbi Daniel Weiner at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle and Bellevue, said the intentions of Bogomilsky and his organization were good but don't represent the majority opinion or approach of the larger Jewish community.

Chabad-Lubavitch is part of the Hasidic movement within Orthodox Judaism and also a global outreach organization intended to help Jews deepen their faith and expand their practice. It does outreach on college campuses, and places menorahs in public places — about 11,000 worldwide.

Weiner believes that displaying a menorah every time there's a Christmas tree "establishes a false parallel between Christmas and Hanukkah.

"Hanukkah is a minor Jewish festival. Christmas is a major Christian festival. It skews Jewish religious priorities to assert that Hanukkah needs to have equal time with Christmas."

Rabbi Anson Laytner, executive director of the Greater Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, said "most Jews support the traditional separation of church and state," and would not want menorahs publicly displayed because they're religious symbols of Hanukkah.

Marc Levy, an attorney in Seattle, said displays of religious symbols on government property have to be looked at through a legal lens. But he wouldn't mind public displays of menorahs at private businesses or shopping malls.

A menorah is a religious symbol, "but nothing more than a symbol and has to be taken as such," he said. "Am I offended if I go to a private shopping mall and all I see is Christmas decorations? I'm not offended. It merely reminds me that I'm a minority religion.

"Would I like to see more Jewish symbols? Sure, but I don't expect it."

What offends him, Levy says, is seeing the dilution of religious symbols — their conversion into secular symbols.

"The idea that you can put up a Christmas tree and say 'happy holidays' to everyone is not respectful of Christianity and not respectful of other religions. ...

"For Christians, I'm sure, it cheapens their symbols. And I'm sure it offends everyone else who doesn't share their symbols because those aren't my holidays."

Carver, the Snohomish resident, said she's upset that Bogomilsky and his attorney threatened a lawsuit. She also doesn't think much of electric menorahs. The flame "is a very special symbol of God's love. An electronic bulb doesn't cut it."

But Bogomilsky said menorahs symbolize freedom, tolerance and joy and that those with bulbs "are clearly a great way of having that message last longer than an hour."

Seattle Times staff reporter Lornet Turnbull contributed to this report. Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com.