Rabbi:
So it's very special to be
here at the White House Hanukkah
Celebration, and we feel
especially blessed because the
center piece tonight is the
Menorah from our synagogue in
New Orleans, one that went
through utter devastation August
29, 2005, with
Hurricane Katrina.
It was found by members of the
synagogue in the weeks after the storm.
It was completely filled with filth and muck and mud and
sewage and waste.
It was broke and bended.
And members of the synagogue
took it and had it restored and
it became a very powerful
symbol of hope for us.
Just like the ancient
story of Hanukkah,
where the Jews came to a temple
which was destroyed and overrun
and they found just small things
that could remind them of their
past and propel them
into their future.
And this Menorah that's behind us that we'll light tonight here
at the White House is a Menorah
for us that symbolizes our
historic past.
We're over 100-year-old synagogue in New Orleans.
And yet our commitment to
rebuild for our future despite
the fact that 12 feet of water inundated our synagogue during
Hurricane Katrina and destroyed everything we owned --
seven Torahs, 3,000 books,
and of course, this Menorah.
But it's been restored
and it looks beautiful,
and we're happy to be here for
the lighting tonight with the President.
♪♪(crowd singing)♪♪