In honor of Hanukkah, check out South Floridians’ beloved & distinctive menorahs | PHOTOS
The lights, the colorful candles, the joyous prayers, the triumphant songs: There’s something about a menorah that uniquely inspires awe and gratitude, more than 2,000 years after the Hanukkah story took place.
When the South Florida Sun Sentinel asked readers to share pictures of their menorahs, we suspected that the local Jewish community was home to an abundance of these precious objects, some classical and passed down through the generations; others, contemporary works of art bursting with color and energy.
But who knew? We didn’t realize how many would come with emotion-laden stories, of vulnerable moments, cherished relationships and dogged efforts to preserve spiritual legacies.
Jewish homes are often filled with sacred items, ranging from mezuzahs to dreidels to Seder plates. But read below about the particular joy brought by these South Florida menorahs, which have made impressions deep in their owners’ souls.
Rescued from Hurricane Katrina
Boca Raton residents Robert and Fran Lenter feel an intimate bond with their brass menorah: Robert rescued it from a mound of rubble at Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Their family had been members of the synagogue for four generations; Fran’s father was president for seven years.
Now a Boca Raton resident, Robert Lenter is shown with the little brass menorah that he rescued from his synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, in New Orleans after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
After the waters subsided, Robert, a freelance photographer, trudged through the destruction and encountered the remains of the historic Orthodox congregation. Its seven Torah scrolls and thousands of prayer books were ruined.
“I saw a shining object buried in the muddy rubble,” he said. “I carefully made it over, reached down and dug it out, not knowing what it could be. It was a small brass menorah.”
Robert said it was the same menorah, with two Lions of Judah holding up the Ten Commandments, that his wife had lit as a child in the synagogue’s Sunday school.
“Since Katrina 20 years ago, I can safely say with all my heart and soul that God led me to Beth Israel to retrieve it,” he said.
Stephanie and Greg Brown pose with their moose-shape menorah in their home in Boynton Beach on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
A moose for a Brown
Some menorahs seem to represent their owners perfectly. In Stephanie Brown’s family, each member lights a menorah inspired by their interests, such as baseball or fire trucks or motorcycles or shoes.
Brown’s sisters bought her a moose menorah for her birthday 25 years ago because of her love for the antlered animals; she has a moose nightshirt, a mug and a wall-mounted moose head coat rack. She has seen several of the enormous mammals during trips with her family to Park City, Utah.
“They saw the menorah there and knew it was so me,” the Boynton Beach resident said. “I’ve been lighting it at Hanukkah ever since.”
Rabbi Greg Weisman and his wife Tami pose with their family menorah in Boca Raton, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. The menorah was made by the rabbi’s great-grandfather. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
‘One of a kind’
Rabbi Greg Weisman of Temple Beth El in Boca Raton and his family feel linked with previous generations through their menorah, which was built by Weisman’s great-grandfather, Jacob Cutler.
An artist born in Ukraine in 1904, Cutler used whatever materials he came across to craft his pieces. Weisman said Cutler made several menorahs, including one that measured at least 8 feet high and was placed atop a Los Angeles synagogue.
The Weismans’ colorful and whimsical candelabrum is about 22 inches high, with a big arch resting on a smaller arch made of wood, colored stones and yellow yarn.
“People have seen pictures of it on social media and asked me where they could get one like it, and with a proud smile I tell them that it’s one of a kind,” Weisman said.
All below will be aglow
Whether a menorah is one of a kind or mass-produced, it is almost guaranteed to inspire comfort and awe as an additional candle is lit each night. Take a look at these beautiful works of art owned by our fellow South Floridians and know that all will be aflame over eight evenings in the coming days, creating a glow of Jewish connection across South Florida, the United States and the world.
Yael Fishman, of Coral Springs, treasures this menorah, which was handmade for her parents’ wedding in 1950 in Haifa, Israel, by a friend who was a blacksmith. “I’m sad to say I lost my mom when I was only 7 years old, when she lost her fight to breast cancer at the age of 46,” Fishman said. “When I light that menorah, it takes me right back to those early days when life felt so simple and I can still feel the love surrounding me that I felt then.” (Yael Fishman/Courtesy)Delray Beach resident Bonnie Nathan said she and her husband bought this colorful menorah in an Aspen, Colorado, craft shop. “Although we had collections of menorahs from generations of our combined families, we felt this creatively designed, hand-cut glass menorah would add a modern touch to our antiquities,” she said. (Bonnie Nathan/Courtesy)Myrna Gordon Skurnick, of Boca Raton, says her menorah is more than 100 years old. “It belonged to my parents, Maurice Gordon and Kate Abramsky, who got married in 1915 in London, United Kingdom. I am their youngest daughter and they left it to me. I brought it with me to the United States when I immigrated in 1960. I have used it every year. I think of them every time I light it.” (Myrna Gordon Skurnick/Courtesy)Boynton Beach resident Micki Schwartz loves her Broadway menorah, co-designed by her son, Ken Katz. It’s sold at a Times Square gift shop, Broadway Up Close. She wrote: “Ken noticed that Broadway Up Close didn’t offer a menorah or anything Jewish for sale and considering the population of Jewish people in NYC, plus the number of Jews that travel from the East Coast to NYC to see shows, Ken started lobbying [company owner] Tim [Dolan] to design and sell a Broadway-themed menorah. There are eight letters in Broadway, so Ken thought that would be perfect for a menorah.” (Micki Schwartz/Courtesy)Delray Beach resident Lisa Rabinsky bought this menorah at a Judaica shop in Boca Raton 20 years ago “because I thought it was gorgeous,” she said. The oil-burning lights add a special glow. (Lisa Rabinsky/Courtesy)This Brutalist-era menorah was a gift to Ann Lois Ballon and the late Rabbi Jeffrey Ballon from Israeli artist Sarah Gabai, the niece of the menorah-maker, Israeli sculptor and painter David Palombo. Palombo was born in Turkey and immigrated to Israel in 1923. His notable works include the gates of the Yad Vashem memorial building and the gates to the Knesset, both monumental architectural landmarks in Israel. (Ann Lois Ballon/Courtesy) Boca Raton resident Harriet Rubin, also known as Florabelle the Clown, bought this menorah about 25 years ago in a New Jersey shop that carried Judaica. She had just started learning to be a clown and was intrigued: “I’ve never seen anything else like it and, over the past several years, I have had it on display at The Club at Boca Pointe during the Hanukkah season so that lots of people could enjoy it.” (Harriet Rubin/Courtesy)Boynton Beach resident Gerri Seinberg said her menorah is a family heirloom from Eastern Europe: “Years ago my Aunt Gertrude Pure gave me an old menorah belonging to her mother-in-law (my grandmother Fanny Pure). The accompanying story was that my grandmother brought this menorah with her when she emigrated from Poland in 1920.” (Gerri Seinberg/Courtesy)Judy Brock, now a permanent resident of Boca Raton, lived part time here and in Rockland County, New York, home to a large Orthodox Jewish population, until 24 years ago. “I bought this there over 35 years ago,” Brock said. “Loved it then. Love it now. ” (Judy Brock/Courtesy)Seymour Brotman, of Delray Beach, received this menorah from his aunt, Sophie Potash, at the end of 1949, a month before his 16th birthday. “I have lit that menorah every year since 1949, as I now approach 92 years of age, having started lighting at age 12, a month before my bar mitzvah in February 1947. My aunt saw that I had been using a very simple menorah and felt I needed a real one, which I will have treasured for 77 years including this year’s Hanukkah.” (Seymour Brotman/Courtesy)Lake Worth Beach resident Frema Sokoloff said her children gave her and her husband this menorah, which was a gift from a grandparent in her father’s parents’ family. (Frema Sokoloff/Courtesy)Coconut Creek resident Mark Felsenfeld, a speech-language pathologist for 46 years, has developed a new hobby: making menorahs for friends and family out of fused and tack/polished glass. (Mark Felsenfeld/Courtesy)Paul Luskin, of Hollywood, made this ceramic menorah in 2000 to honor his family of cat-lovers. (Paul Luskin/Courtesy)Boca Raton residents Alan and Helen Baker tell this story about their menorah: “We were engaged on the first night of Chanukah, Dec. 25, 1959. My close friend knew that I would be surprised with my engagement ring that night. She was prepared with this beautiful menorah, which was our very first engagement gift. We still use it, and it always brings back beautiful memories of that special first night of Hanukkah!” (Alan and Helen Baker/Courtesy)Nina Lane made this menorah in her glass fusion class at the Valencia Lakes community in Boynton Beach. (Jim Talens/Courtesy)This shofar-shaped menorah is among several in the collection of Boca Raton residents Leonard and Ursula Hess. (Leonard and Ursula Hess/Courtesy)
