The Miracle of Chanukah at Perry High

As told by Reut Ben-Ezer

Reut Ben-Ezer founded the Kosher Food Club at Perry High School, a weekly club where students meet other Jewish students, have Jewish discussions and best of all, eat delicious Kosher food! For the first time ever, Perry High School proudly displayed a 6 foot Menorah this past Chanukah. Here's the inside story.

How did it all begin?

I'm part of a club that plans the school assemblies. We were charged with preparing for the huge holiday show and we prepared a lot of holiday decorations yet no Chanukah decorations. I was really upset about this. There's plenty of Christmas trees, yet not a single Menorah.

Not cool. So what happened?

My friend Menny, he's not Jewish but we call him an honorary Jew because he knows like everything about being Jewish, he asks me how to write the Hebrew words Chanukah Sameach, and he draws up these really nice Chanukah signs! A few days later I find out that they didn't put them up with the rest of the decorations. They said that the signs had been lost, which made me even more upset.

Oy! That must have made you feel terrible! What did you do about it?

So I went to Mr Ames, the Assistant Principal for Activities, and I just told him exactly how I feel. I tell him that I just don't get it, why couldn't we have our own part in the celebration, we want a menorah to represent us too! And just like that, he said sure!

Wow! That sure takes a lot of guts! Good on you for speaking up!

I felt so relieved and happy. A Menorah in Perry! Together with Rabbi T and the students at Kosher Food Club we built the Menorah and when I asked the school where to put it, they told us to stand it up right in the main lobby as you walk in! The proudest Perry Menorah!

I heard lots of people commenting on how they saw the Menorah and how cool it looked. Everyone was very supportive! And of course they all saw it as they walked in each morning. At the end of the year our Menorah even made it in the school yearbook!