Striking a balance: decorations still divisive
By Rachel Lebeaux/ Townsman Staff
Thursday, December 29, 2005

After town officials’ approval of a new seasonal
decorations policy this fall, Wellesley is winding
down on a holiday season that brought some additions
to the town’s traditional holiday set-up, as well as a
noticeably absent ceremony.

Last year, Rabbi Moshe Bleich of the
Wellesley-Weston Chabad Center threatened to sue the
town for the right to place a menorah on town property
and hold a lighting ceremony, per a Supreme Court
decision that a menorah can be considered a secular
symbol of the holidays when placed alongside other
holiday symbols, such as the wreaths that
traditionally hang at Town Hall. The town eventually
allowed Bleich to put up his menorah and hold a
secular lighting ceremony on the first night of
Hanukkah.

This fall, the selectmen worked with the
executive director, town counsel and faith
representatives throughout the community to craft a
policy that would allow them to avoid confusion over
seasonal decorations in the future. In accordance with
that policy, the menorah, representing the Jewish
faith, is again standing at Town Hall, as are a
Christmas tree, representing the Christian faith, and
a crescent, representing the Muslim faith.

Efforts have been made to keep the number and
scale of the symbols in balance. "We don’t want a
10-foot-tall Christmas tree dwarfing a 5-foot-tall
menorah or crescent," explained Executive Director
Hans Larsen. If representatives of another faith had
come forward requesting to exhibit a symbol, Larsen
said the town would have tried to accommodate them.
But there’s no guarantee the symbol would be approved.
"Somebody has suggested we put up a Nativity scene,
and I’ve suggested that they bring forward a proposal
to the selectmen next year," Larsen said.

So far, the town has received mostly positive
feedback for its display, he said. "It’s interesting
to see the three symbols displayed out there...people
consider it in good faith and everyone is represented
in some way," he said. "It’s inclusive, but not
overwhelming - it doesn’t impose on anyone."

But while there is a greater number of symbols
this year, there was no lighting ceremony for the
menorah, as there was last year, or any of the holiday
symbols. According to Larsen, that was a conscious
choice on the part of the town: he noted that there
had been some sentiment following last year’s menorah
lighting that the ceremony had not been secular as
promised because many people had recited a prayer.

"The selectmen basically decided, as reflected in
their policy, not to have any religious ceremonies on
town grounds," Larsen said. "The sense of trying to
avoid any perception of a religious ceremony suggested
[that there should be] no ceremony."

Bleich said that he had initially wanted to hold
another menorah-lighting ceremony at Town Hall this
year but was asked by town officials not to request
one, since, if he asked for a ceremony,
representatives for all of the other faiths might ask
for a ceremony too, he said.

He is aware that some people were disturbed by
the prayer recitation at last year’s ceremony.
However, "When you light a menorah, any Jewish person
knows that part of [the ceremony] is making the
blessing," he said. "The fact is that a menorah is lit
with a blessing in more than 1,000 cities and towns
across the United States, on town property.

"Maybe you shouldn’t pray or make a big service,
but anyone who has an issue with making a one-sentence
blessing before lighting a menorah...it seems to me
that person is getting a little out of hand," Bleich
said.

Instead, Bleich said he held a lighting ceremony
at his home on Route 9 Sunday night, the first night
of Hanukkah. Close to 100 people attended the menorah
lighting and Hanukkah party at his home, which he
considered especially impressive since it was also
Christmas day and many of those who attended were
members of intermarried families. Every person who
attended had the opportunity to light his or her own
menorah, he added, and everybody had a good time.

"I figured that, between the menorah going up for
a month in front of Town Hall and the fact that we now
have a menorah up on Route 9 on private property...it
would not be worth it to [push for a Town Hall
lighting ceremony]," Bleich said, adding, "I feel like
everyone came out victorious."