Led by a blue-and-white Ghostbusters van, over 40 vehicles topped with light-up menorahs paraded across downtown Chattanooga on Wednesday, from Coolidge Park to Ice on the Landing at First Horizon Pavilion.
The menorah parade and ice menorah lighting, an annual event put on by Chabad of Chattanooga, was a bit harder this year, said Rabbi Shaul Perlstein of Chabad.
“It’s a little more emotional,” Perlstein said, “but at the same time, it’s like it gives it purpose.”
Perlstein was referencing the shooting on Bondi Beach in Australia, where at least 15 people were killed in an attack on a Hanukkah celebration on Saturday
The Bondi Beach shooting hit close to home for Perlstein, who went to rabbinical school for a year with Rabbi Eli Shlanger in New York, who died in the shooting. Shlanger was a dear friend and colleague, Perlstein said.
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After the shooting, Perlstein ordered another five car menorahs for the parade, he said in an interview. Within minutes of putting out the word he had ordered more, he heard from 10 people that they wanted to join the parade.
“This is what he would have wanted to be done,” Perlstein said. “He would have wanted bigger, grander — he was always that way.”
Perlstein spoke with Shlanger’s father-in-law Wednesday morning to tell him about the additional car menorahs and the growth of the parade.
“He said that the outpouring of people that are saying they did something extra because of him,” Perlstein said, “he knows that he would be smiling.”
Each year, Perlstein chooses someone from the community to light the menorah. This year, Hamilton County Sheriff Austin Garrett was chosen and was assisted by Sam Roistacher, a Red Bank police officer who attends services at Chabad. In years past, Jewish first responders, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, former Israeli Defense Force soldiers, Chattanooga Police Officer Dennis Pedigo and others have lit the candles, Roistacher said.
Garrett took the opportunity to tell the crowd that gathered at First Horizon Pavilion that as long as he serves as sheriff of Hamilton County, he would not tolerate anyone being threatened.
“It’s important for me to communicate to the residents of this county, and anybody visiting here, that we’re not going to tolerate anyone being threatened,” Garrett said in an interview. “In Hamilton County, they’re not going to live in fear. No one should be threatened, intimidated and live in constant fear of being able to go about their daily business.”
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Perlstein said the menorah and Hanukkah represent freedom from tyranny and oppression.
“When confronted with hate, we can have no better response to the negativity we encounter than to proudly gather together and celebrate the light of the menorah in public as one community,” he said.
The event was under the jurisdiction of the Chattanooga Police Department since it was inside city limits, Elisa Myzal, spokesperson for the department, said via email. Myzal said precautions were in place for the event.
“CPD coordinates with event organizers to better understand the nature of the event and determine an appropriate level of support based on their needs and comfort level,” Myzal said.
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The department does not disclose specific security measures so as to avoid creating unnecessary risks for those attending the event or in the area, Myzal said.
The parade of cars adorned with menorahs was escorted by five police vehicles and several officers on motorcycles.
Roistacher said persisting and celebrating together are at the heart of Jewish tradition.
“I was in tears when I saw what happened in Australia, but it’s the typical Jewish holiday,” Roistacher said in a phone interview. “We had an event where they tried to kill us, to eradicate us. We defeated them. We’ll make a holiday about it, and then right at the end of that holiday, we’re going to have a big feast.”
It’s hard to fathom what happened in Australia, Roistacher said, but it’s like the old adage, he said.
“It can’t happen here until it does,” Roistacher said, “so we are always ready.”
Contact religion reporter Kailee Shores at kshores@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.