Menorah lighting photos from the riverfront

Congregants from Riverhead’s Temple Israel, led by Rabbi William Siemers, gathered at the riverfront Saturday night for the annual menorah lighting in observance of Hanukkah, which started on Thursday.

In Hebrew, the word “hanukkah” means “dedication.” The holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.

Nine-year-old Rebecca Siemers had the honor of flipping the switch.