The 120 Stone Menorah

A unique Menorah will be displayed this Chanukah in the Brazilian state of Parana, built from 120 white stones.

Rabbi Yoseph Dubrawsky has come up with an original idea to mark 120 years since the start of Jewish immigration to the Brazilian state of Parana.

Rabbi Dubrawsky, Director of the Beit Chabad in the city of Curitiba, was looking to mark the milestone of 120 years since the immigration of Jews to the state.

The result is a Chanukah Menorah built from 150 white stones, with each stone engraved with another year.

“The idea is to unite all the Jewish organizations,” Dubrawsky told COLlive.

“(We want to) demonstrate how together, starting from the first Jews who arrived to the city in 1889 to the present day, we are lighting up the city with the spiritual light of Torah and Mitzvos.”

As construction is currently underway, Dubrawsky will add a special date to each year.

“The first Jew born, inauguration of the Jewish school, the start of a new organization etc. will have the event attached to the stone, corresponding to that year,” he said.

Volunteers and local organizations are gathering information to be included in this historic Menorah.

The Menorah will be lit in the center of the city, right in front of the usual giant menorah, on Sunday December 13, in a grand ceremony with music, games and Latkes.

In another part of town, children are working tirelessly, packing hundreds of boxes of candles to be distributed by dozens of volunteers to ensure that no home will be left without the warmth and the light of the Chanukah candles.