(Courtesy of St. Mary’s Hospital) St. Mary’s General Hospital hosted the first (of many to come) menorah lighting event in front of the Kotel at Night right here in Passaic. Ed Condit, CEO of St. Mary’s, welcomed the crowd and turned the event over to George Matyjewicz, as master of ceremonies. Rabbi Moshe Mirsky, director of religious services at Daughters of Miriam, did the honors of the brachas and lighting the outdoor menorah, after which the audience sung traditional Chanukah songs.
Approximately 150 people were in attendance, including Clifton Mayor Jim Anzaldi, State Assemblyman Gary Schaer, Passaic Councilman Daniel Schwartz, many rabbanim and most importantly parents with their children. The group then followed the blue stars and Chanukah banners to the hospital cafeteria where the hospital staff had a special program planned especially for the children along with gifts and jelly doughnuts.
“We contracted with Mark A.S. Dolson and his Wings of Magic program,” said Matyjewicz. “Mark did an outstanding program of magic with the help of the audience. And the kids and adults were mesmerized by some of the magic—especially pulling that dove out of the box and levitating that young girl on a table! His program was an hour and the audience participation was there every minute of that hour.”
“When the event was over parents and children thanked us for the wonderful program,” said Matyjewicz. “And I got texts and emails all night and this morning raving about the event, the gifts and the jelly doughnuts! The jelly doughnuts, from Yochie’s Heimishe Kosher Bakery here in Passaic, were really special. One of our staff had never seen such large donuts!”
The children also received dreidels, gelt, clappers, Chanukah activity books, hand stamps and crayons that are shaped like dreidels. Each table had a large Chanukah paper cover designed for kids to color, which they did.
St. Mary’s has been working diligently to accommodate the Orthodox Jewish community and the hard work paid off. Staff understood the meaning of the menorah lighting and were mindful of the needs of the attendees. Guests who attended were raving about the politeness of the staff.
“Planning Chanukah events [is] hard,” said Matyjewicz. “In addition to the shuls having menorah lighting, both cities of Passaic and Clifton had their public menorah lighting on the second day. But we were pleased with the turnout, which seemed to grow as the event was taking place. This is just one of many events to happen at St. Mary’s—stay tuned.”
The evening was complete with the attendance of one special guest—Phyllis Matyjewicz, who had double-bypass open heart surgery at St. Mary’s on December 4. The staff and the guests were all so happy to see her up and about after such a trying ordeal less than three weeks earlier.
“Many people questioned why I had the surgery at St. Mary’s,” she said. “Why didn’t you go to Hackensack or one of the New York City hospitals? My answer was simple—we have some great doctors in our local community, who practice at St. Mary’s. So, if we all go to Hackensack or New York City, how will these doctors ever be known for their excellent work?”
Another Chanukah miracle, B”H!
Guests were also impressed with the changes in the facilities and discussed the upgrades with Ed Condit, who was there for the entire event. Condit explained how Prime Healthcare has spent now close to $70 million on upgrades to the facilities and equipment and has brought in many new physicians. It was an eye opener for many guests!
For more information about this event or St. Mary’s General Hospital, please email George Matyjewicz at [email protected].
