Now, from the White House lawn to the foot of the Eiffel Tower, some 15,000 public menorahs carry on a vision of bringing Hanukkah’s message of redemption and hope to every corner of the earth.
The world’s two largest menorahs are illuminating Hanukkah celebrations on opposite sides of the globe this year.
It took 100 volunteers and an all-night effort to pull it off, but Schneider Children’s Medical Center has done it again.
Their massive menorah, crafted from 25,000 recyclable balloons, now towers above the Petah Tikva skyline for the tenth straight year.
In a touching tribute to the hostages in Gaza, a yellow ribbon winds through the soaring menorah.
Six thousand miles west, its New York rival climbs 36 feet above Fifth Avenue.
A Guinness-certified landmark designed by Yaacov Agam, the bronze behemoth has been stopping traffic near Central Park for decades.
Public officials and dignitaries frequently visit this historic New York menorah during Hanukkah, including notables such as New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Israeli Consul General Asaf Zamir.
However, this year’s lighting is bittersweet as it’s the first without Chabad Rabbi Shmuel Butman, whose booming voice and boundless energy made him a Hanukkah fixture until his death in August.
This year marks a half-century since the first public menorah was lit at Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell in 1974.
Sparked by the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s appeal to bring Hanukkah celebrations into public spaces worldwide, that pioneering ceremony set off a movement that would eventually place menorahs in city centers and landmarks across the globe.
Now, from the White House lawn to the foot of the Eiffel Tower, some 15,000 public menorahs carry on a vision of bringing Hanukkah’s message of redemption and hope to every corner of the earth.
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