Online Excluisve | Fox Family Continues Tradition of Lighting Chanukah Candles at Jewish Hospital Medical Center East

Fox Family Continues Tradition of Lighting Chanukah Candles at Jewish Hospital Medical Center East

Members of the Fox family continued a 59-year tradition when they lit the Chanukah candles at Jewish Hospital Medical Center East each night during the Jewish holiday, which began November 28.

The traditional lighting of the Fox Family Chanukah Menorah is done to honor the memory of Hilda Fox, head nurse at Jewish Hospital for many years prior to her death on the fourth night of Chanukah, 1956. In addition to her other responsibilities, Hilda took it upon herself to erect a menorah and light Chanukah candles each year for patients and visitors at Jewish Hospital during the holiday.

After her death, the family purchased a simple wooden menorah and for decades, different family members came to the hospital each night of the holiday to light the candles in her memory.

Fourteen years ago, Jewish Hospital commissioned Louisville artists Julius Friedman and Mark Fowler to design a new menorah, which the family now uses to light candles each night at Jewish Hospital Medical Center East.
Today the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren of the family carry on their Chanukah tradition.

This year, on the fifth night of Chanukah, Sunday, December 1, the Fox family along with Rabbi Michael Wolk from Keneseth Israel Congregation gathered and invited the community to join them for that evening’s candle lighting.

Jewish Hospital Medical Center East is the proud home of this nearly six-decades-old tradition.

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