Beach Hillel held its sixth annual Monster Menorah vote Thursday in front of the Multicultural Center.
Students were asked to vote for their favorite student-built menorah based on design, creativity and presentation.
“I think it’s a great way to be creative and express your feelings toward Hanukkah,” said Rachel Kaplan, director of Beach Hillel.
The winning menorah was the metal menorah called “Rustic Chanukah,” built by Alon Mahller, a Cal State Long Beach senior business management and marketing major.
“I was walking around in my garage, found a pile of steel and started to get an idea in my head,” said Mallher, who competed in Monster Menorah last year. “When you work with steel you can shape it to what you want, not many people can work with steel.”
Mahller’s design was of a large Star of David with the initials of CSULB in the center. The candles of the menorah were secured by welding metal nuts to the top.
“I’ve always wanted to build a menorah and didn’t have a reason until now,” Mahller said. “I spent two cold nights in my garage with a welding torch to get this together.”
Three menorahs were entered in this year’s competition, each made from different materials, including glass, metal and wood. More than 130 students voted for the three different entries.
The menorah “Blue Moon” by Ryan Pessah was made from a Blue Moon beer bottle and candles. It also came with a special note: “22-ounce bottle of Blue Moon: $3.50; 12-pack of Blue Moon: $12.99; Drinking all of it with my friends: Priceless; Building a menorah hangover: Unforgettable.”
“We thought about making [the menorah] out of Monster energy drinks,” said Zachary Libow, a sophomore pre-law major and contributor to the Blue Moon menorah. “We tried to find Jewish beer like Maccabi or HeBrew but in the end, Blue Moon is just a great beer.”
Students were impressed with the creativity of the beer bottle menorah.
“What caught my eye was the bottles,” said Marian Martin, a graduate student getting her teaching credential.
“The Blue Moon one is rad,” said Luis Fukutake, an undeclared freshman.
The menorah “Hope for the World” was originally a box-starter menorah but it was repainted and crafts were added by Kiva Hewett with help from her daughter.
“The ‘Hope’ menorah is really cool,” said voter Josh Mendez, a freshman math major. “The candle in the back [of the menorah] is blue but is very dominant.”
Students voting on their favorite menorah chose various criterion that drew them to their choice.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Samantha Pierluissi, a junior nursing major. “The big one is kind of whimsical but the little one is so cute.”
Students also came out to vote for their friends.
“My friend is one of the contestants,” said Olivia Newell, a senior sociology major. “They’re all really nice; they all just take time and effort.”
Rabbi Drew Kaplan was on hand to observe the event and comment on the day’s reactions.
“I think it’s great that [Monster Menorah] is still running,” Kaplan said. “It’s not a particularly religious event and appeals to a wider range of students. I think it might also help draw in Jewish students that don’t know about Hillel.”
The winning menorah will be taken to the Alpert Jewish Community Center to show the community and to see what support can do for students, Kaplan said.