| Dear Friends,
Last week’s “Frisco Yid” article generated a lot of feedback and interest to know more about the genesis of the public Menorah lightings. So I went straight to the source, and interviewed my father in law – Rabbi Chaim I Drizin, to give us “the rest of the story”.
RN: How did a nice Chassidic couple from Brooklyn, end up in Berkley in the 70’s at the height of the counter culture revolution?
RD : In 1971, the Rebbe’s Shliach (emissary) to California – Rabbi Shmuel D Raichick, was approached by Congregation Adath Israel in San Francisco, to help them find a youth director. He thought I may be the guy for the job. After flying out for an interview with the board, and with the Rebbe’s consent and blessing, we were “going west”.
RN: NY to SF is more than just “coast to coast” geographically, there’s a great “spiritual divide” as well. How did you adjust?
RD: As Shluchim (emissaries) of the Rebbe, our objective was not to adjust to the local culture, but to try and bring an authentic and spirited Jewish experience to the community. To be effective, you of course have to get a feel for the local lifestyle and mindset, and tailor your message accordingly, without compromising it. We hit the road running: I was the NCSY youth director at Adath Israel, and we also started outreach programs at San Francisco State Univ. and S. Cruz University.
RN: Those were pretty wild days on the college scene, were students receptive to a Chassidic rabbi from Brooklyn?
RD: The Rebbe saw the counter- culture revolution as a manifestation of American youth in search of a deeper truth and spirituality than they were raised with, and I saw that first hand right away, as I was invited to teach courses in Jewish Mysticism at local universities.
The demand for a “Chassidic Rabbi” from Brooklyn on campus, was so great in fact, that the head office of Chabad in CA, asked us to relocate to Berkley at the end of 1971.
RN: So there you were right in the center of it all…..
RD: Thank G-d, the Chabad House in Berkley touched and transformed the lives of thousands of students. Stories abound, but that’s for another occasion.
RN: After the move to Berkley, did you still operate in San Francisco?
RD: Berkley became the regional HQ for Chabad in Northern CA, so from there we branched out all over the Bay Area. San Francisco, was where the bulk of our funding and support came from, so I was there almost daily.
RN: You were really “breaking ground” in unchartered waters from Chabad’s standpoint. How was the Bay Area taking to theChabad message?
RD: A couple of years after our arrival, I was approached by Vincent Tortoro – a movie producer , who asked me to help him with a documentary he was working on. The documentary was called….’ChabadLubavitch” , so I guess that’s probably a good indication of the inroadsChabad was making.
RN: Did it air?
RD: It aired on KQED – a public TV station in San Francisco.
RN: Great PR. Any tangible results?
RD: The most immediate and tangible result, was the friendship that ensued between myself and Zev Putterman- the executive director of the TV station. He was a pretty assimilated Jew at the time, but through our friendship he became increasingly involved in Jewish life.
RN: Any further forays into mass media?
RD: In 1975, Zev and I were talking about promoting Judaism on a big scale in SF. The month of Elul ( the last month of the year, when the Shofar is sounded daily) was approaching, and I proposed that we do daily public Shofar blowings in Union Square. The idea however, was nixed by the Rebbe’s secretary – Rabbi Chodakov whom I consulted with before undertaking such an “out of the box” idea.
RN: Why did he nix it?
RD: He reasoned that if people hear the Shofar in Union Square throughout the month, they won’t feel the need to attend Synagogue on the High Holidays.
RN: History shows that you didn’t give up on Union Square…..
RD: Chanukah is the Holiday after the High Holidays, and a light went on in my head (no pun intended..) – and I thought, a Menorah lighting in Union Square would be the ideal way to reach a broad spectrum of the community with a statement of Jewish pride and joy.
RN: How did Zev respond to the idea?
RD: His initial response was: Chanukah? That’s a “home holiday” ! So I explained to him that on Chanukah we are obligated to publicize the miracle, (Pirsumei Nissa heb.), and to that you have to bring the Menorah out of the home and into the public arena. Fortunately- as a media guy, he caught on pretty quick.
Now the question was, how to make a large Menorah. Zev said, I’ve got just the guy. He picks up the phone and calls his friend Bill Graham – the famous rock promoter, and says “Bill, I’m here with a rabbi, and he’s got a project I think you’ll like”. Bill immediately responded, “come over tomorrow at 3 p.m.”
RN: You were “on a roll”, how was the meeting with Bill?
RD: I found Bill to be a real “hartzige Yid” ( a warm Jew) , but with no previously known connections to the Jewish community. We hit it off, and he loved the idea. He called his production manager who oversees the construction of stage sets, and told him about it. We decided on a steel Menorah with mahogany on the outside.
RN: Sounds rather expensive…
RD: Bill turned to me and said, so who’s funding this, I said I didn’t have a donor for the Menorah yet. Bill said “it’s on me”. That was a $10,000 Chanukah gift.
RN: This was all very new, not just for SF, but for the Jewish world. Did you consult with anyone?
RD: I called Rabbi Zalman S Dworkin, the chief Chabad Rabbi in NY, and he told me
that the maximum size for a Menorah is 25 ft tall and 16 ft wide, and that’s the size it was built.
RN: Where to from there?
RD: Joseph Alioto – the then Mayor of S Francisco, green lighted the permits, and on the day before Chanukah , I invited the Federation leadership to an inaugural ceremony.
The buzz and excitement all over town was palpable. Over 1000 people came to the Menorah lighting on Sunday night, and it was widely reported by the media.
RN: Was there no resistance to a public Menorah lighting?
RD: The “honeymoon” didn’t last very long. Rabbi Asher of Temple Emanuel – the largest and most prestigious reform congregation in SF, wrote a scathing article , chastising the community for supporting a “blatant violation” of church and State. The article generated a lot of confusion and controversy.
RN: How did you deal with the controversy?
RD: I was called to a meeting with the heads of 22 Jewish Organizations in SF . They wanted to know what my agenda was. I responded that it was very simply, to fulfill the obligation to publicize the Chanukah miracle.
Trying to find a “diplomatic” solution to the situation, they proposed that the following year, the Menorah lighting take place in the privately owned Stones town shopping center, just outside SF, and that they would guarantee the same level of attendance. They also pledged, that they would do all the PR for me, but if the attendance would be less than it was at Union Square, the Menorah could return to Union Square and they would never raise the issue again.
RN: Tough call. Deal or no deal?
RD: I wrote to the Rebbe, and he instructed me to consult with someone local, who could objectively asses the situation. Providentially, at that time Rabbi Mendel Futerfas – a well respected Chassid , was in town raising funds for the Chabad Yeshivah in Israel. He was thus – for now “local”.
He asked me if I trusted their proposal. I said yes. Then he asked me if I thought they could bring 1000 people to Stones town shopping center. I said: no way. He quoted a Yiddish proverb- the gist of which means – sometimes it pays to take a temporary step back and go with the opposition, because in the long run it will make you strong forever.
RN: And next year at Stones town shopping center…
RD: 100 people showed up the following year at Stones town shopping center……
To the establishment’s credit, they stood by their word, and that’s why till this day, America’s most liberal city, has never challenged the Menorah in the most public of places.
RN: Must be pretty awesome, to have been part of history in the making.
RD: It’s humbling. I think though that it’s a powerful lesson about how history happens. Who would have known in 1975, that thanks to the Rebbe, this would become a catalyst for what is now a global campaign with 10,000 public menorah lightings worldwide.
RN: The lesson?
RD: Sometimes, you’re at the center of history, and you don’t even know it. So, you never know which moment , which deed, which word, can change the course of history. That’s why the Rebbe often quoted Maimonides who said: one right word, one right action, even one right though, can tip the scales of the world to good, and bring global redemption!
RN: Powerful. Thank you for sharing this major slice of history.
RD: Thank you and Happy Chanukah
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