• About
  • Jewish Community Directory
  • Subscription Information
  • Contact Us
American Jewish World
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    From Jerusalem with love and compassion

    From Jerusalem with love and compassion

    Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

    Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Poems wanted

    Poems wanted

    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Searching for a bridge to the past

    Searching for a bridge to the past

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    From Jerusalem with love and compassion

    From Jerusalem with love and compassion

    Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

    Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Poems wanted

    Poems wanted

    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Searching for a bridge to the past

    Searching for a bridge to the past

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Celebrating Hanuka with Marlene

American Jewish World by American Jewish World
May 23, 2020
in News
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Marlene Solomon, of Golden Valley, enjoys a collection of more than 60 Hanuka menoras that she’s gathered over nearly 50 years

By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor

Marlene Solomon once had just one menora.

“Everybody’s grandmother had one with the two lions,” Solomon told the AJW. “I had one like that.”

But when she ended her time as a youth group leader, her students gave her a gift: a simple menora with a row of marching Maccabees.

“That was the beginning of the collection,” Solomon said. “I keep hoping, from that moment on, that no one gives me the hubcap to a Rolls-[Royce].”

Forty-nine years later, Solomon’s collection has grown to more than 60 hanukiot, Hanuka menoras, which she displays throughout her Golden Valley apartment all year long.

“When I came to rent this apartment, I immediately saw where the menoras would go,” she said. “What good is having a collection if you can’t enjoy it?”

Marlene Solomon owns more than 60 menoras, all of which are displayed year-round throughout her apartment. (Photos: Erin Elliott Bryan)Marlene Solomon owns more than 60 menoras, all of which are displayed year-round throughout her apartment. (Photos: Erin Elliott Bryan)

Solomon was born in Scranton, Penn., and lived most of her life in Washington, D.C., where her late husband worked for the Government Accountability Office. She moved to Minnesota 15 years ago to work as a program director at the Sabes JCC, where she met Jennifer Herman Spiller.

“According to our family, it wouldn’t be Hanuka if we didn’t celebrate with Marlene,” Herman Spiller told the AJW.

Together with her partner, Richard Hoffman, Solomon used to host a dinner party for 10-12 people during each of the eight nights of Hanuka. In recent years, the celebration has changed to a New Year’s Day brunch for nearly 90 people.

“We can’t light all the menoras together or the fire marshal will be involved,” Solomon said. “But we let some people pick out their favorite menora to light. I try to light them all at least once during Hanuka.”

Solomon’s “Minnesota menora” — a moose.Solomon’s “Minnesota menora” — a moose.

Many of Solomon’s menoras were gifts from her three daughters, Diana Herzan, of Medina, Minn.; Wendy Spertus, of Chicago; and Sue Turner, of Annapolis, Md. She even has a small menora shaped like a dachshund that was a gift from her “granddog,” Dappy.

“I can’t imagine my daughters will want my entire collection,” Solomon said. “I think some unsuspecting synagogue will get a big donation after I’m gone.”

READ ALSO

From Jerusalem with love and compassion

Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

Solomon already donated a 70-pound brass menora, which she purchased from a Minnesota Byerly’s gift shop, to her daughter’s synagogue in Chicago.

The collection also includes a menora her father purchased from an antique shop in Lisbon, Portugal. Solomon had the menora authenticated by the Smithsonian, and it was determined to be from the 1500s. The menora, however, includes Christian symbols, such as three fish, and the base is in the shape of a cross when the arms are removed.

“If it could talk,” Solomon said, “it would tell an amazing story.”

Solomon’s father found this menora, which was authenticated by the Smithsonian to be from the 1500s, in an antique store in Lisbon, Portugal. It features Christian symbols, such as the three fish, and the base is in the shape of a cross when the arms are removed.Solomon’s father found this menora, which was authenticated by the Smithsonian to be from the 1500s, in an antique store in Lisbon, Portugal. It features Christian symbols, such as the three fish, and the base is in the shape of a cross when the arms are removed.

Other unique menoras include a large one made of papier-mâché, which Solomon purchased from a theater prop shop; a small two-piece menora that depicts the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967; one that features the names of different concentration camps; a copy of an Ethiopian menora that can be used for both Hanuka and Shabbat; and a copy of the congregational menora from Temple Sinai in Washington, where she served as the director of education.

She even felt obligated to purchase an electric menora.

“I got the least intrusive one I could find,” she said.

Solomon said she doesn’t have a favorite menora — there is a story or emotion attached to each one. At this point, she no longer seeks out menoras, but will purchase one if it is unusual.

“I have a few more shelves left and that’s about it,” she said.

Related Posts

From Jerusalem with love and compassion
Books & Literature

From Jerusalem with love and compassion

June 21, 2022
Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota
Minnesota

Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

June 21, 2022
‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022
Lifestyle

Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

May 11, 2022
Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota
Minnesota

Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

April 22, 2022
Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days
Minnesota

Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days

March 9, 2022
Direct from Los Angeles, Cantor Ben Tisser
Music

Direct from Los Angeles, Cantor Ben Tisser

January 16, 2022
Next Post

Oren decries Tom Friedman reference to 'Israel lobby'

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECENT ARTICLES

From Jerusalem with love and compassion

From Jerusalem with love and compassion

June 21, 2022
Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

Jewish groups fight for abortion rights in Minnesota

June 21, 2022
Editorial: Elections and Trump’s big lie

Editorial: Elections and Trump’s big lie

June 24, 2022
Poems wanted

Poems wanted

June 7, 2022
‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

May 11, 2022

About

Since 1912 the AJW has served as an important news resource for the Jewish community. The Jewish World unites the main Jewish communities in St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as those in Duluth, Rochester and smaller cities, and bridges the divides between the various Jewish religious streams.

Quick Links

  • About the AJW
  • Advertising Information
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Subscription Information
  • Jewish Community Directory

Contact Us

The American Jewish World
3249 Hennepin Ave., Suite 245
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Tel: 612.824.0030 / Fax: 612.823.0753
editor@ajwnews.com

  • Buy JNews
  • Landing Page
  • Documentation
  • Support Forum

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
  • News
  • Food
  • Health & Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.