Josh Kotler returned to his home in Altadena in Los Angeles County after a wildfire forced him to flee with his wife Emily and their two daughters, Liberty, 4, and Eve, 2.
What he found among the ashes of his home, purchased just 18 months earlier, was both unexpected and profoundly meaningful—a Hanukkah menorah passed down from his Holocaust-survivor grandparents.
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Josh Kotler with heirloom Hanukkah menorah passed down by Holocaust survivor grandparents
(Photo: Courtesy)
The fire broke out during dinner, Kotler said, racing down the street as winds initially blew away from their house. "We evacuated to be safe," he said. "At 11:30 p.m., I drove back to check, and the fire was closing in on the house. I hosed down the roof and the area around it to try to stop embers from igniting."
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Despite his efforts, the next morning a neighbor sent Kotler a video that confirmed the worst—the house had been completely destroyed. "We broke down crying," Kotler recalled. "We left the kids with family and tried to return, but police blocked the road. We parked and hiked up to see what was left. When we got there, we saw the damage and small fires were still smoldering around the house."
Amid the devastation, Kotler hoped to salvage something. He approached a firefighter on-site and asked if it was safe to search the rubble. "She said yes, and even offered to help," he said. "Ten seconds later, she tapped me on the shoulder, said ‘Happy Hanukkah’ and handed me the menorah of my grandmother Leah.
Kotler’s grandparents were Holocaust survivors from Belarus. "I almost collapsed. I started crying and thanked God," he said. "It was such a powerful moment. It gave me strength. I don’t think I’d be as strong without the story of that menorah."