Scripps Ranch resident Ken Heying believes in miracles. On Oct. 26, he believes he saw one happen.

On that day, the disaster called the Cedar fire bore down on his community. On that day, voracious flames nearly consumed the 27-acre Chabad Hebrew Academy complex, claiming the synagogue that served 150 families and the classroom trailers that temporarily housed students and staff.

On that day, the fiery passage left charred ruins behind and swept the promise of destruction before it.

But as it charged relentlessly up the hill toward the site of the school's new construction, the conflagration turned aside just a few yards short of a 32-foot menorah and the colorful new structures that stood on a hill behind it.

Heying and many others believe the inferno was checked by the hand of God.

The miracle menorah, as the congregation now calls it, will be lighted Sunday, the third day of Hanukkah, in observance of the Jewish holiday whose name stands for rededication; the annual observance recalls a miracle in the year 165 B.C. that involved -- a menorah.

The stainless steel artwork, designed and built in 1998 by sculptor Jack Weiner of La Jolla, was unblemished by the destructive fire, with not even a tinge of smoke on it. Weiner had labored for a couple of months to bend and shape the pipes, weld them together and pull the menorah into position. He was out of the country when he heard that Scripps Ranch was under siege.

"I was really scared when I heard about the fires -- that it might have been burned," he said. "I thought it was really a miracle."

Heying (pronounced "hine") said his family was evacuated at about 10 a.m, but an hour later he received a call from a neighbor to return because the fire was surrounding his home and no firefighters were available. He returned to find flames approaching his back yard. He connected about five garden hoses and used them to put out those flames.

Then the wind shifted and began driving the fire toward Chabad.

"I prayed God would save the homes and the school," he said. "I was just praying for God to have mercy on the school because Rabbi (Yonah) Fradkin had put his life blood into it. "

In a matter of minutes, all the portable buildings were ablaze.

"You could see the menorah in the middle of 30-foot flames, but it wasn't burning," Heying said. The fire jumped the nearby road and burned the forest across the street, but it spared the menorah, he said.

"The heat was so great in the fires that I saw many houses burn to the ground," said Heying, whose home sits on a property next to Chabad, about 200 yards from where the portables stood. "Metal melted, and granite was turned to dust. I was probably 40 yards away from all this, and I could feel the heat."

By midnight, the trunks of eucalyptus trees in the woodland tract surrounding the academy smoldered like coals. The administrative center for the 10 Chabad centers in San Diego County had been all but destroyed. More than a quarter of a million dollars' worth of equipment had been lost: The synagogue, the portables, the school bus and the outdoor sculpture garden were in ashes.

But the menorah was still standing.

"It's an absolute miracle," Heying said. "I believe in miracles, and this is a modern-day miracle."

In Jewish history, Hanukkah marks a victory for religious freedom. The Greeks had outlawed the Jewish religion, robbed and defiled the temple and forbidden the Jews to study the Torah. An uprising led by a priestly Judean family known as the Maccabees was victorious against the Greeks. After the battle, the Jews wanted to rededicate the temple to God. But only enough undefiled oil could be found to light the holy lamp, or menorah, for one night. The oil miraculously lasted eight nights until new oil was available.

Another symbol of the holiday is the dreidel, a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter -- nun, gimmel, hay, and shin -- on each side, standing for one word of the phrase nes gadol haya sham, or "A great miracle happened there." In Israel, the dreidels use the word "here" instead of "there."

Fradkin said the dreidels that Chabad will use this year have come from Israel so that the congregation can say "a great miracle happened here" as well.

That day of fire bestowed a second miracle, Fradkin said -- no lives were lost. All other losses were merely physical things, he said. Besides the trailers that housed the classrooms, the school lost its textbooks, computer lab, children's toys, school supplies, library, the community center and several preschoolers' blankies that offered comfort at nap times.

Three sacred Torahs were saved from destruction in a pre-dawn rescue led by Fradkin. It was both necessary and worth the risk to retrieve the parchment scrolls that contain the first five books of the Bible, he said.

"The Jewish lifeline is the Torah," Fradkin said. "We're the people of the book, and the Torah is the book. All of the commandments that Jews are commanded to live by are written within the five books of Moses. It's the Jewish people's connection to God. That's what makes the synagogue holy. First the people, and then the Torahs."

Two weeks after the disaster, on Nov. 10, the 350 preschool through eighth-grade children were back in class, thanks to round-the-clock painting and fixing, with furniture and books borrowed from other school systems.

The new complex had sustained minor water damage, shattered windows and some heat blisters. Only the first floor of the two-story building has permits for occupancy.

Fradkin expressed gratitude for the special efforts to get the permits by officials of the city of San Diego, especially Councilman Brian Maienschein, who represents the Scripps Ranch area.

"He's been an angel for us," Fradkin said.

After the fire, the congregation of 150 families held weekly services in a large white tent in the parking lot. But tonight, as part of the miracle of Hanukkah, it will re-enter the new synagogue for the first time.

"We have a synagogue that is built for 500 people and we hope to be filled to capacity shortly," Fradkin said. "We've built a school for 800 children and we see the joy of visitors as they witness the beauty and joy of this. We are sure (the school) will soon be filled to capacity."

Eventually, the complex will include an adult education center, a Judaism Center where people can learn more about the Jewish heritage, Fradkin said.

The community has donated toys, books, money and volunteer hours to help them get up and running, and in return, Chabad plans to come back tenfold, offering their passion and quality education to the community in thanks for standing with them in their time of need, Fradkin said.

"After this miracle, we know that there are no limits to our successful future," he said.

Contact staff writer Agnes Diggs at (760) 740-3511 or adiggs@nctimes.com.