As Jewish people mark the start of Hanukkah with menorah lightings around the world, rabbis have also spoken about the gloom of this year's celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war and rampant anti-Semitism.
“In this difficult time for Jews, with rising anti-Semitism and the war in Israel, Jews around the world are more inspired and determined to bring more light into this world amid darkness,” Chabad Rabbi Motti Seligson told .
On Thursday evening, thousands are expected to attend the candle lighting ceremony in New York City near the Plaza Hotel (5th Avenue and 59th Street) to watch the “largest menorah in the world,” a 36-foot-tall menorah, light up on the first night of Hanukkah .
New Yorkers will join others in Berlin, Paris and London on Thursday to celebrate the start of the eight-day holiday.
Hanukkah comes as Israel continues to battle Hamas after terrorists launched a surprise attack on October 7 that slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 240 others. The war led to a massive increase in anti-Semitism, with physical and verbal attacks on innocent Jews.
“Instead of hiding, Jews around the world are hardening their identities and customs in the face of anti-Semitism,” Seligson said.
Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shmuel Butman speaks next to the world's largest Hanukkah menorah set up by Chabad-Lubavitch stands at Grand Army Plaza in New York on December 18, 2022, the first night of the eight-day holiday
Europe's largest menorah stands at 32 feet high at the Bradenburg Gate in Berlin. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hanukkah
Two friends hug after lighting a Hanukkah candle at a volunteer gathering area in southern Israel near the Gaza border on Thursday
Since Hamas' surprise attack in Israel on October 7, which killed more than 1,200 people, anti-Semitism in America has risen a staggering 388 percent.
To celebrate the “Festival of Lights” organized by Chabad organizers, 15,000 public menorahs will shine brightly around the world. Seligson calls the menorah a “beacon of hope” for all who are suffering.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul are expected to attend one of the evening lightings, which will take place through Dec. 15, Seligson said.
Thousands of people are expected in Washington, DC for the 45th Menorah Lighting. The annual event takes place at 4 p.m. on the Ellipse near the White House and the National Mall.
This year, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will be in attendance and will include Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
In St. Louis, hundreds are expected to attend the menorah lighting at 6 p.m., which will take place near the Gateway Arch. The 29-foot-tall menorah marks the first time a menorah has been erected at this monument.
“This is the first time we have erected a menorah of this size.” “It is by far the tallest menorah in Missouri history (second place is 15 feet), the tallest west of the Mississippi and one of the tallest in the world said Rabbi Chaim Landa with Chabad of Greater St. Louis. Missouri said.
The celebrations in America reflect what has been seen around the world.
On Thursday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, wearing a black kippah, the traditional Jewish head covering, stood at the Brandenburg Gate during a public menorah lighting.
It was the first time in history that a German head of state took part in a public menorah lighting ceremony.
The Brandenburg Festival is in its 20th year and its menorah stands 32 feet tall.
The Chancellor spoke about anti-Semitism, past and present, sending a strong message of solidarity with the Jewish community in Germany and with Jews around the world. Thousands attended the milestone event.
Families of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza attended the ceremony, as did guests from Berlin's Jewish community and many dignitaries, including the President of the German Bundestag Bärbel Bas and Israel's Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor.
Berlin Chabad Rabbi Yehuda Teichel told that “exactly two months after the terrible massacre on October 7th, which was driven by hatred and darkness, a light is being lit to spread the message of freedom and democracy .”
On December 7th, a Hanukkah menorah (a nine-branched candelabra) with lights is placed in Trafalgar Square, London, as part of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (pictured left) and Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal (pictured right) light the Hanukkah menorah fire at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Thursday
Europe's largest menorah at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (pictured). During the Nazi occupation, a photo of the Bradenburg Gate is held up, showing flags with Nazi swastikas
“The message is loud and clear: we will not give in to terror and will not allow these terrible atrocities to overwhelm us. Rather, the Jewish people will stand strong and proud with pride and identity for strength, tolerance and awareness among all people and in society,” he said.
“That was the lesson and message that the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Schneerson taught us, and we are excited to share it with the community today.”
The site where the Hanukkah ceremony took place was the site of Kristallnacht 85 years ago – the “Night of Broken Glass,” when the Nazi regime coordinated a wave of anti-Semitic violence, burning down stores, businesses, etc.
“This was the very place where a famous Nazi march took place – 85 years after the program evening on November 9, 1938,” said Rabbi Teichel, calling Thursday’s lighting and the chancellor’s presence “of great importance.”
On Wednesday, a woman from Berlin, Germany, posted a “then and now” photo on YourJewishLife, showing a photo of the Bradenburg Gate in Berlin in the 1930s during the Nazi occupation and today's Brandenburg Gate with the towering menorah.
“The survival of the Jews is perhaps the greatest miracle in all of Jewish history,” she wrote.
“Hanukkah begins on the evening of this Thursday, December 7th, and in the midst of this dark time for the Jewish people, we have never been more excited to celebrate this holiday of Jewish strength and continuity.”
“Will you put your menorah in your front window?” she asked. “I certainly will.”
In Paris last week, a German tourist was killed in a knife and hammer attack near the Eiffel Tower that left two people injured.
President Emmanuel Macron called the incident a “terrorist attack” and the 26-year-old suspect, a French citizen who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, was arrested, Portal reported.
But in the face of terror, Jews around the world continue to gather.
Rabbi Mendel of the Chabad in Paris told on Wednesday that “the terrorists cannot win.”
Their public menorah lighting ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at the Eiffel Tower, a 30-year tradition that he said will continue.
“People had asked if the lighting ceremony would happen this year,” Mendel said, “I said 100 percent.”
He said permits for the lighting had just been signed. “It was given with the statement that life must go on and that light and joy in the community should not change, but is needed now more than ever.”
Police and Jewish security organizations have taken extra precautions by increasing security at Jewish schools and lighting events, including where children's Hanukkah parties are held.
“Hanukkah is a joyful holiday,” he said. “The message is that not only must life go on, but also the light of Hanukkah to positively change the world.”
He said the ceremony was expected to draw between five and 6,000 people. The chief rabbi of Paris and some representatives of the city hall are expected to be among those present.
Other celebrations in and around Paris will include the 80th Menorah Lighting Celebration.
The National Menorah is lit on the first evening of Hanukkah on the National Mall during an earlier celebration on December 1, 2010 in Washington, DC.
Hundreds of revelers gather at the public Hanukkah menorah lighting at the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 2016, organized by Chabad-Lubavitch
His giant menorah is on display in London's Trafalgar Square.
Although there is no public ceremony, the lights on the menorah will be lit daily at 4:00 p.m. from Thursday eve until December 14 and at 5:15 p.m. on Saturdays.
The public menorah is free and is managed by Mayor Sadiq Khan's office.
In Essex, more than 350 people gathered for a lighting ceremony. The lighting was a celebration where student representatives spoke and there was a choir. The evening's festivities concluded with Hanukkah treats, including the traditional potato latkes and jelly donuts.
Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin, who heads Chabad of Essex County, said the afternoon event was “amazing,” despite the rainy weather.
“It was pouring rain, but during the 45-minute ceremony the rain stopped and started again when it was over,” he said.
“There was a much higher turnout than in the past.” “We feel like people are expressing their Jewish pride amid increasing concerns about what is happening in Israel,” he said.
He added: “People are very motivated. 'It's very nice.'
The Hanukkah Awareness Campaign
The annual New York tradition is part of the global Hanukkah awareness campaign, an initiative launched 50 years ago in 1973 by the Rebbe – Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, the most influential rabbi in modern history.
In the half century since the campaign began, it has revitalized the widespread celebration of the Festival of Light and brought it into the American mainstream, returning what some have mistakenly dismissed as a minor holiday to its roots as a public proclamation of the final triumph of light over darkness and freedom over oppression.
Today, the unprecedented public display of Hanukkah has become an integral part of Jewish life and American culture, forever changing the practice and consciousness of the holiday.
This year, Chabad-Lubavitch will place more than 15,000 large public menorahs in more than 100 countries around the world, including at landmarks such as the White House in Washington, DC; the Eiffel Tower in Paris; and Trafalgar Square in London.
Source: Chabad