SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — The Jewish community puts up menorahs all over the world during Hanukkah, and Maine is no exception.
"The message is that we increase in light, we increase in adding goodness and kindness throughout our state," Rabbi Levi Wilansky said.
Wilansky learned after this weekend's sabbath that one of the public menorahs he and his congregation at Chabad of Maine put up this year had been vandalized. Extension cords were stolen, twist ties holding it together were cut, and the menorah itself was knocked over.
"It's very disturbing," Wilansky said.
Wilansky said he is working with the South Portland Police Department to try to learn more about what happened.
Police did not return a request for comment on Tuesday.
Wilansky said the vandalism won't change anything for his congregation moving forward.
"This obviously doesn't represent what Portland, Maine is," he said. "What it tells me and what it inspires [in] me is that, obviously, we have a lot more work to do in sharing the light of the menorah."
Next year, Chabad of Maine plans to put up even more public menorahs. They're starting a campaign called "Spread the Light" to do just that.