It took more than a year of planning and six months of construction, but a new — and in true North Fork spirit, locally crafted — menorah will grace Mitchell Park this December in celebration of Hanukkah.
Congregation Tifereth Israel of Greenport has commissioned former Greenport Mayor David Nyce, an artisan furniture maker by trade, to create the holiday symbol to replace the temple’s aging menorah. Nyce has volunteered his time, while the synagogue will pick up the materials cost.
The result is seven-foot-tall, four-foot-wide cedar menorah with brass light bulb bases. When it is installed in Mitchell Park next month, the wooden structure will rest in a custom-made, powder-coated steel base and will remain lit adjacent to the village’s Christmas tree throughout the holiday season.
While the upper branch of a menorah can sometimes feature sharp, U-shaped arches, this candelabra has a much subtler curve.
“I wanted to do something that was reasonably impervious to the weather and I wanted it to be a mix of wood and metal,” Nyce said. “The idea was for it to have an organic look. The design falls toward what I normally do, which is a fallback to art nouveau.”
Kristian Iglesias of the Greenport-based Kai Design helped weld the base, and Doug Jacobs, a Greenport Village power plant employee, helped configure the wiring.
The electric menorah will be unveiled and lit in Mitchell Park at 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, the first night of Hanukkah.
Rabbi Gadi Capela, spiritual leader of the synagogue, will lead those attending the menorah lighting ceremony in prayers and songs of the holiday. Following the ceremony, the community is invited to the synagogue for potato latkes and other Jewish fare.
“Normally we invite members and friends, but this time were inviting the entire community back to the synagogue,” said Alan Garmise, the congregation’s president.
Nyce, who said he is not associated with any denomination in particular, has been a friend of the synagogue for years in both his capacity as mayor and as a community member, Garmise said. Nyce and his wife Jennifer Benton were the citizen honorees at the synagogue’s annual dinner dance at the Sound View Inn in Greenport on Sept. 20.
“The fact that we were able to commission David who is an outstanding artisan to design and construct our new menorah means a lot to the synagogue and to the [Village] of Greenport,” Garmise said. “It’s just a symbol of the temple that’s been in the community for 114 years and has a future as long as its past.”
Nyce noted the structure is made of materials that, if treated properly, could hold up for decades. Plus, the durable wood and metal accents give the menorah an elegant, yet understated feel.
“I wanted it to look striking without being ostentatious,” Nyce said.
