The stamp depicts a menorah in a window with snow outside.
By Janis Fontaine
The U.S. Postal Service bestowed an honor on Temple Beth El of Boca Raton by naming it the official site for the first-day-of-issue dedication of the U.S. 2016 Hanukkah stamp. The Postal Service planned to release the stamp commemorating the Festival of Lights during a ceremony Nov. 1 at Temple Beth El, a Reform congregation in Boca Raton, which was chosen for its “vibrant Jewish population.”
For the last few years, the dedication ceremony for the Hanukkah stamp had taken place in New York City, and the organizers were ready for a change. The Jewish population of South Florida — estimated at more than half a million people — gave them a legitimate reason to choose our palm trees and ocean breeze over another gray November day in Manhattan.
The Postal Service offered its first Hanukkah stamps in 1996, and a stamp has been offered 12 times since then. Four stamps, including this year’s by artist William Low, depicted a menorah. One stamp had a dreidel, and one was just the word Hanukkah in bright lettered boxes.
The Postal Service also offers commemorative Christmas and Kwanzaa stamps, Fourth of July and Cinco de Mayo stamps, even the ever-popular Valentine’s Day ”Love” stamps that grace wedding invitations year-round.
Low’s stamp has a burning menorah sitting in a homey window, and the branches outside are frosted with a blanket of snow that glows pale blue in the candlelight. He worked with Ethel Kessler, an art director working with the Postal Service, who seeks out artists with styles that lend themselves to the small format of stamps.
Low has been producing stamp art for years. He also illustrated the holiday windows set of four stamps released in October, and the two poinsettias Forever stamps released in 2013. He painted the 2014 Winter Flowers set of four Forever stamps.
At the dedication ceremony at Temple Beth El, the Postal Service was to give a 45-minute presentation that concluded with the big reveal: the pulling down of a curtain to unveil a blowup of the stamp. Postal Service CEO David E. Williams was scheduled to attend, as was Jeffery A. Taylor, manager of the South Florida district.
Steve Kaufman, executive director of Temple Beth El for the last four years, says the congregation was excited about the national attention. “The honor came out of the blue,” he said. “We didn’t apply or anything. They just picked us.”
Kaufman said that the planners did some quiet research, checking out Temple Beth El’s website and Facebook page, checking to see how many followers it has, and what kind of programs it offers for the 1,500 families that make up the congregation.
The synagogue is at 333 SW Fourth Ave., Boca Raton.
Rabbi Dan Levin planned to offer an invocation, and the cantors and children from the preschool planned to sing Hanukkah songs.
Kaufman said he expected the event to attract some local philatelists in search of first-day covers. FDCs are stamped envelopes, postal cards or other postal materials with cancellation stamps that state “First Day of Issue.” The special decorative artwork that complements each stamp is called a “cachet” and is highly collectible these days.
“It is a really big deal,” Kaufman said of the honor.
Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at janisfontaine@outlook.com.
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