Photo: This menorah survived a firebomb attack at Vancouver’s Temple Sholom in 1985. (CBC)

A menorah has become a symbol of hope after surviving a 1985 firebombing at a Vancouver synagogue

The old Temple Sholom was destroyed during an arson attack in 1985, but a menorah withstood the blaze

A menorah is one of the last remaining vestiges of a Vancouver synagogue that was ravaged by a firebomb in 1985.

In the pre-dawn hours of January 25, 1985, a Molotov cocktail was hurled through a first-floor window into Temple Sholom, which at the time was located on West 10th Avenue.

While no one was hurt in the bombing, it destroyed much of the building. The arsonist was never apprehended.

Rabbi Philip Bregman was the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom at the time.

“I got a call from the fire department at two in the morning saying the synagogue was fully engulfed and that it was a bomb,” he said during an interview with CBC News.

When Bregman arrived at the temple, fire crews were still working to extinguish the blaze but that didn’t stop him from rushing into the building to retrieve Torah scrolls.

“We tried to save them all, but couldn’t,” he said.

Among the few items retrieved from the pile of charred ruins was a menorah.

“The bomb came in from the window and right next to the window was the menorah. The fire crew couldn’t explain what stopped it from burning,” he added.

Photo: The Temple Sholom synagogue relocated to Vancouver’s Oak street in 1988, years after its old building on West 10th Avenue was destroyed in an arson attack. (CBC)

Menorah “a miracle,” says rabbi

Hanukkah marks the Maccabees return to Jerusalem in the second century BC to liberate it from Seleucid Greek rule and rededicate the Second Temple in Jerusalem with a new altar and menorah.

The Maccabees found they only had enough oil to light the new menorah for one day, but it ended up burning for eight nights, according to tradition. Since then, a festival of lights has been celebrated every year to commemorate the miracle of the oil.

“Temple Sholom’s candelabrum is also a miracle,” said Bregman. “It’s made out of wood and metal and I can’t explain [why it didn’t burn], and the fire crew couldn’t either.”

The menorah now sits at Temple Sholom’s current location on Oak Street. The synagogue relocated there in June 1988.

Dan Moskovitz, Temple Sholom’s senior rabbi, says the menorah serves as a reminder of hope during dark times.

“We use it every year in our community during Hanukkah. It is the light of freedom, of repair and renewal,” he told CBC News.

Celebrating Hanukkah more crucial than ever, says rabbi

Moskovitz said it’s crucial now more than ever to light the menorah and celebrate Hanukkah amid a rise in hate incidents aimed at the Jewish community.

In a statement released in early November, British Columbia’s human rights commissioner Kasari Govender said the devastating events in and around the Gaza Strip have resulted in a surge of hate incidents and violence toward Jewish and Muslim people in the province.

B.C. Premier David Eby issued a statement Thursday to commemorate the start of Hanukkah, acknowledging that the celebration comes “at a time when incidents of anti-Semitic hate are on the rise in B.C. and worldwide, making Jewish people feel unsafe in their communities.”

While anti-Semitism continues to be a problem, Rabbi Bregman says a lot can be accomplished by embracing differences.

“Everybody has the right to be here, we should simply not let hatred and darkness envelop us,” he said.

Full story here.

Archival video here: