Where's Marty? Checking out the outdoor display at the "Chanukah House of Pikesville"
Hi Everyone!
As we come to the end of Hanukkah, we decided to head over to the "Chanukah House" in Pikesville.
(Before we go any further let's note that I just spelled the formal name of the Jewish Festival of Lights two different ways in the same sentence.
In the Jewish community itself, which I am a part of, the debate on the holiday spelling happens every year.
Families, who have used one spelling for decades on their holiday cards, (and such), go by that spelling period. And it can change from family to family.
The hosts of the Chanukah House use the "CH" spelling.
At CBS, we use the "HA." For brevity, just accept it as a beautiful quirky part of the seasonal celebration of a miracle.
Now, let's talk that miracle which 40 years ago the first Hanukkah House, located on Park Heights Avenue in Pikesville, celebrated.
Simply put, imagine your cellphone has 5 percent of it's battery left, and you have no way to charge it. And that 5 percent lasts for eight days.
There you have Hanukkah/Chanukah in nutshell.
Back "in the day" during a siege of a Temple, there was only enough oil to keep the lamps lit for a day.
But, by a miracle that oil lasted eight days. And the Temple survived an invasion.
Forty years ago, on Park Heights, a family started this tradition.
After a while, it got too big for them, and another family in the area took up the mantle on their property on Greenspring Avenue.
COVID ended that.
But two years ago, another couple, David and Wendy Hefter, decided the "House" needed to be reimagined at their Pikesville home on Brightside Avenue, just two blocks West Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. And so it was and so it is.
Pictures in daylight do not do this holiday display justice.
As with other light displays in the area, this one attracts a few hundred people nightly.
And that does not include those folks who just drive by for a look. Christmas lights, Hanukkah/Chanukah lights all make the season the wonderful time of the year it is.
We want to thank the Hefters for hosting us this A.M., and for hosting many others later this evening. For a map search put in 101 Brightside Ave. Pikesville 21208. ENJOY!
Marty B!
