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MIRACLE ON 15th STREET: HANNUKAH ANGELS The first night of Hannukah, a miracle took place yards from the White House back gates. Just before the holiday torch was lit, three pictures were taken capturing two blue images ascending from center of Friends of Lubavitch's Menorah, skywards to the right. They were not planes. Nor camera flashes. Or lightning. Or sprites. Blue Angels. Eve of Hannukah, an erroneous email swept the Internet stating President George Bush would be lighting the holiday's first candle on a Menorah built by a Florida congregation in memory of Israeli terrorism victim, Noam Apter. President Bush, was at California's Marine base Camp Pendleton, seen by the world. One frame from the three shot at the Ellipse, was posted hours later on Joseph Fara's worldnetdaily.com. Around 1:00am. First response, from a professor, was cynical. "This is cool! While I was looking at it another UFO appeared, and then another! How'd you do that?" I offered to send the raw images. He apologized, "I now realize you are serious," "I thought you were joking," mentioning something about images able to be produced in Photoshop. A friend, a former airtraffic controller wrote, "I've seen some unexplained things on a radar scope." A Vietnam Vet offered, he requests in his prayers, "for God to send angels to care, minister, and protect individuals and He does." Believers were buoyed. "This is awesome." Fara forwarded an email to me with this note, "I've gotten many of these." from readers responding to my photo accompanying his article. "Angels Photographed Over Nation's Capitol" addressed my mystery blue images taken at DC Chabad's outdoor menorah lighting, asking "Is it strange that seven candles were lit on the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah? I makes me wonder when the picture was taken. It is something to consider. Thank you." Of course it is something to consider. Even during the holiday of miracles. I arrived late at the Ellipse. I thought Friends of Lubavitch was lighting the holiday's first night candles at 6:00. Or was it 5:00. I couldn't remember. I read Rabbi Shemtov's Menorah Lighting poster outside CVS earlier in the week, distracted by an out-of-place PLO flag flying in Dupont Circle park. The last time I saw Rabbi Levi was Rosh Hashanah, partaking in his New Years "Big Tzimmes." A family tragedy in January was bringing me back to tradition. That night at the Rabbi's, was the first time in a long time I had been inside a shule. Best I could do was hold the machzor, holiday prayer book, tight and cry, crying harder as I walked home. Alone. Angels appear in all sorts of shapes and guises. At the Big Tzimmes, one revealed himself in the form of a developmentally challenged man, talking without a care in the world as to who I was, how I looked, just happy to chat. I listened, all the while thinking about a man I grew up with, whose soul soared in the realm of challenged youth and adults. As moments moved forward, I eased being chatted to, ducking the occasional spit tossed in course of his excitability sharing his day and his world. I had met Rabbi Levi before. Twice. At the White House Faith Based Initiative conference held at "the Hinckley Hilton," amongst industry insiders, the industry being politics. Ironic the spot where Reagan was shot would be the venue the White House chose for it's first conference seeking bringing God in the community closer to government. Rabbi Levi recalled my 2003 Hannukah Ellipse photo capturing Chabad's Menorah outsizing the National Christmas Tree. That was the first time we met. My intention had been to drop workout gear off at my gym before heading to the work. Somehow I sidetracked on to the Elliptical machine. Fifty minutes later, back on the sidewalk, I picked up my pace. Nearing Lafayette Park, skies darker than I expected, I heard Z'mirot, Jewish holiday songs, ringing out from behind the White House. Admittedly later than I wanted to be, my consolation was Hannukah's holiday affords eight photo opportunities, one each night celebrating the miracle that took place in the Temple for eight days. I was delayed crossing G Street. The Metropolitan Police officer said either al-Yawer or King Abdullah from Jordan was staying up its block. Crossing over F, I ended up on the wrong side of the wood and linked chain fence, despite tracing the path I used to get into the photographer's pen, earlier in the week, while covering the National Christmas tree lighting. I arrived in time to hear Rabbi Levi introducing the Three Rabbis last song before licht benching, candle lighting accompanied with the holiday blessing. With no hope of climbing either fence to get into shooting position, I took the advice of the armed officer standing in front of me, "Walk around." There is one thing you don't do in DC. Debate officers. I hiked. Coming around the National Christmas tree barrier, I saw Lubavitch's menorah, eerily backwashed in floodlights, two candles appeared as if stems of blackness reached from them for the sky. The Three Rabbis concluding, Rabbi Shemtov was inside the cherry picker being raised to light Hannukah 2004's first flame acknowledging a thousands year old miracle of "the few over the mighty." My larger camera still packed in my backpack, I popped one shot from the distance with my wide angle lens. Too far off, I strode through the grassy mud to the menorah's base, popping three more shots in sequence, with no hope of making it all the way back to the snapper's pen. I raced, front of the menorah alongside the Marine Navy band, calling out "Hi Rabbi" as Shemtov and his guests reached the pinnacle, lit the candles and my taking a 2004 "larger than the Christmas tree" menorah shot." Savoring Chabad's jelly donut and latkes, I headed home. I almost forgot about the backlit menorah pics. The one I selected to edit had strayed to my main screen. At first I thought the blue zig-zags on the images were from a bounced flash. I hadn't used mine. There was no one near me when I snapped away in the night's blackness. The only tall structure was the Washington Monument, "picture left," identified by its two red lights. Planes? I looked again. Closer. Then sent the image out with a note attached.. Maybe it is "M" time. There are the moments when simanim, signs, appear. In Exodus 13:21, it is written, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night." Like this first night of Hannukah, alone, nibbling my jelly donut, missing being amongst people who know me, "the sister recovering from loss," I felt like I needed to sink, somehow letting this year swirl past. Ten months now, there is not a day I do not feel Chezi's presence. It will never seem real. We mourned the latter of our obligatory Seven Days, in Beitar Ilit, my brother's community. I received, there, a perspective on dying I carry with me each day. And share. The murdered are being called Home, invited to join Hashem, God. Understanding their work is done on earth. It is less painful for loved one's left behind I am finding, to consider our loved ones, are the Chosen. In the case of Chezi, my brother, and Noam, leaving us earlier than we thought of or expected. It is the "not saying goodbye" that remains. I found myself explaining to my Vietnam Vet friend my expressing, after Chabad's candle lighting, I wanted to be beamed up Star Trek style. I think he understood I accept the Lubavitcher Rebbe's saying 'when we leave this earth, we are released to be with all of our loved one's at the same time.' I wanted to be everywhere. With my mom in Canada, my boys in LA and NY, Chezi's kids in Israel and my soulbeat in Florida. The next morning, due diligence began with calls to the Pentagon, the FAA and following up on Lee Bailey's email to Joseph Fara about sprites. "Nothing of ours," said the Pentagon. Bailey wrote, "Looks more like the new form of lightning scientists started getting photos of back in the 90s, what they are calling 'sprites'. Electrical fields that surge straight up to the edge of the atmosphere and space. They thought they were only with thunderstorms at first, but now they are seeing that they can form anytime. They are so fleeting that they are gone within split seconds, so getting three frames of the lights is quite amazing. She should send it into a scientific group studying lightning." I emailed Bailey's recommendation, Berkeley. Harland Frey, University of California's Space Sciences Laboratory, responded, "As I never want to say "never" I call it very unlikely that these lights could be sprites. The major reason is that you took three images. Sprites are sometimes called "transient luminous events" because they only last for 1-5 milliseconds. And having three of these short light pulses in a row and captured by your photo camera, appears impossible. In addition, most sprites emit red light, and so called "blue jets" are rather rare." "Moving airplanes could be another explanation, but the shape is not right, and I doubt that two planes would fly so close together (except military formation)." The third night of Hannukah, I sent Mr. Fara, an explanation for readers confusing flame shaped glass globes with lighting torches, in the 21st century entertainment arena of outdoor menorah lighting at the Nation's Capitol Ellipse. The miracle of the Holiday is the flames die out naturally. Blowing out the flame is like snuffing out a human life. 1014 in the recent Intafada. That same evening, in the Booksellers Area in the White House, President George Bush and First Lady Laura, lit a sterling silver Menorah brought from Florida's Boca Raton synagogue, to the third Annual White House Hannukah Reception. The intimate affair was limited to guests- New Jersey's Kol Zimra choir, the children and wife of senior Jewish chaplain in Iraq with Hawaii's 84th, Captain Shmuel Felzenberg, Boca Raton Synagogue Rabbi Kenneth Brander and Rabbi ShemTov. Unknown to White House media affairs, Israeli press said, an administrator at Noam's school, Otniel Yeshiva, told Israel NN's Ezra HaLevi "the Florida congregation had taken a tour given by Noam shortly before he was murdered." The same hour America's president lit Boca Raton synagogue's Hannukiah, memorial menorah commemorating the murder of 23 year old Noam Aptor, slaughtered in cold blood saving classmates by refusing to turn the school's dining hall key over to Arab terrorists disguised as Israeli military, a "convoy of light" linked across Israel in a string of cars and buses, from norhtern Shomron's Sa-Nur to Gush Katif's Gan-Or, the territory Sharon ordered relinquished. The President words, "Chanukah: the burning of a lone flask of kosher oil for eight full days in the Temple, and the victory of the "few against the many" in the Maccabee clan's revolt against the massive trained army of the Syrian-Greeks," weighing throughout the world, why Hannukah is, in these days and times remindful of politics thousands of years old. Shy two months of our family's year of mourning coming towards closure, a miracle happened in the District, on 15th Street. Two victims of Palestinian terrorism represented Israel, this Hannukah in Washington, DC. Noam, by a menorah. Chezi, by me. I took a deep breath, reflecting on the words I sent out with the picture, originally, ".. in a year of loss and gain, maybe it is "M" time." Decide for yourself. if angels came to DC. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41819 As for me, forever the rose colored eyeglass wearing Saggitarian, I look at the picture Mr. Fara cropped from my photo. I'll spin my Hannukah dreidle, my traditional wooden top, wishing for "M" time. That I can live with. A siman, a sign, of Chezi, of Noam, of hope, all will be well. BIO: Carrie Devorah is an award winning investigative photojournalist cross credentialed as a Crime Information Analyst, profiler, security and mediator. She covered international horseracing and boxing before moving back to America. January 29th 2004, Devorah's youngest brother, Jewish Press Columnist, Yechezkel Chezi Goldberg, was one of 11 commuters murdered in a Jerusalem bus bombing Yasser Arafat ordered hit. www.goldbergmemorial.org