Heralded by large celebrations in world capitals and modest gatherings in rural townlets, Chanukah, the Festival of Light, began after nightfall Saturday, as millions worldwide illuminated their windows and doorways with the menorah’s light, celebrating G‑d’s miraculous intervention in the fate of the Jewish people and the victory of right over might.
Beginning with one candle lit on the eve of the 25th day of Kislev on the Jewish calendar (corresponding this year to December 8), Jews around the world will kindle menorahs for eight successive nights, adding one candle each night to commemorate a miracle that took place in Jerusalem 2,177 years ago. After miraculously vanquishing the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who defiled the Holy Temple and sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel, a small jug of pure oil that was sufficient to last for only one day miraculously lasted for eight days and nights, and enabled the Jewish people to rededicate their Temple.
Holiday is observed around the world
Two millenia later, the light of Chanukah was again visible throughout Jerusalem, as thousands of residents and tourists attended scores of public menorah lightings around the city arranged by Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, from the Western Wall to Zion Square to residential neighborhoods throughout the city.
In hotspots like S. Thomas, Puerto Rico and Playa del Carmen, Jewish vacationers disembarking from their cruise ships were greeted by local Chabad emissaries with loud greetings of “Happy Chanukah” and thousands of menorah kits, as they made their way to local hotels where menorah lighting ceremonies were awaiting them.
Meanwhile, the Jewish community of Moscow braved the cold and trekked through the snow to celebrate the lighting of a giant menorah erected outside the Kremlin by Chabad-Lubavitch of Moscow. Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar lit the menorah and told the crowd that “the light of the candles should burn brightly in your souls.”
Like his colleagues worldwide, Lazar called on the assembled to perform the Chanukah ritual of lighting their own menorahs at home, and to further cultivate and celebrate their Jewish roots. Russian television stations broadcast the event live to millions, as the community prepared to take part in events throughout the week.
In Washington, D.C., American Friends of Lubavitch geared up Sunday for more than 3,000 visitors who were expected to attend the lighting of its National Menorah on the White House Ellipse, complete with hot latkes, doughnuts, and a performance by the U.S. Navy Band.
Media and official interest greater than ever
Indeed, worldwide media coverage of the holiday’s observance—online, televised and in print—further proclaimed the Chanukah miracle and its message of religious freedom. These reports often focused on a Chabad-Lubavitch event somewhere around the globe. Social media was also lit up with pictures and reports posted by local participants.
Public officials and mall owners alike registered worldwide to host or participate in Chabad Lubavitch–sponsored events, emphasizing the degree to which the message of Chanukah has become universally recognized and celebrated.
In the days leading up to the Chanukah holiday, the Judaism website Chabad.org recorded a record-breaking 2.9 million unique visitors to its extensive Chanukah menu of guides, videos, songs, insights, recipes, holiday customs and lists of Chanukah events to join around the world.
Intense preparations make their mark
In the weeks leading up to the holiday, Chabad-Lubavitch centers across the globe geared up to mark the holiday in what some consider to be the grandest fashion ever.
Millions of menorah kits (containing tin menorahs and candles) and explanatory brochures in scores of languages; more than fifteen thousand large stationary menorahs erected in public places; tens of thousands of car-mounted menorahs; and more Chanukah parties, public menorah celebrations, car menorah parades, and prison and hospital visitations than ever comprised but a part of the complex logistics carefully planned by Chabad-Lubavitch for the benefit of Jews worldwide.
The effect of the public menorahs on Jewish consciousness could be felt even before the holiday’s onset.
Writing on Facebook on Friday about how he dealt with the emotional overtones of the Holocaust that he felt in Berlin, Germany, music producer Billy Mann confessed, “This morning was very hard on me. I felt very alone in the cold city, slowly pacing the Holocaust memorial.
“But after leaving and walking again through the [Brandenburg] Gate,” Mann continued, “I faintly heard the sound of men’s voices singing in Hebrew, erecting a Menorah, raising their voices proudly in the harsh winter.”
Echoing the experience of possibly millions across the globe upon encountering Chabad-Lubavitch menorahs, Mann reflected, “It so moved me . . . I rarely discuss religion on Facebook; my childhood consisted of as much time singing in churches than in synagogue. But I am Jewish, deeply rooted in my faith and my people . . . This morning was indeed this: a memorial for grieving and a symbol of healing and miraculous light.”
Back in the United States, Holocaust survivor Abe Weinrib, who spent six years in nine concentration camps as a young man, lit the first candle on Saturday night in honor of his 100th birthday.
“Abe represents the indomitable Jewish spirit that refuses to be extinguished, and the continuing rededication that is the very theme of Chanukah,” said Rabbi Aryeh Kaltmann, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Columbus, where Weinrib lit the menorah.
When it comes to some of the celebration’s specifics, however, local communities labor to imprint their specific tastes and talents on the age-old observances.
Some communities called upon skilled engineers to build complex menorahs out of tin cans that were collected for weeks beforehand and that will be distributed after Chanukah to the needy, while others are holding dreidel-spinning contests and latke frying, while in still others, ice and Lego menorahs are all the rage.
At Chabad-Lubavitch of Orange County, N.Y, ten-year-old Dovi Burston created a science test-tube menorah to be featured at his parents’ bowling alley takeover event themed “A Mad Science Chanukah.” And, like many of their colleagues worldwide, Rabbi Pesach and Chana Burston are holding an “adopt a sabba and savta” (Hebrew for grandfather and grandmother) program, pairing Hebrew School students with seniors at a local adult home. The children are going with their families and bring cards to the seniors, gathering them for singing, latkes, and doughnuts.
“Early” Chanukah an opportunity on campuses
On U.S. campuses, where Chanukah often falls out during students’ winter break, this year’s calendar affords Chabad House directors the opportunity to spend the full holiday week with students.
Rabbi Yossi Brackman, co-director of the Rohr Chabad Center at University of Chicago, said he’s excited to be able to celebrate with students onsite this year. The only challenge, he says, is that the holiday falls during finals week, when students are busy, so Chabad is working to bring Chanukah directly to the students.
So, in addition to their menorah lighting in the public square complete with the student pep band and the student circus, they’re giving out menorahs for the dorms, passing on “Chanukah baskets” to the students stuffed with food and finals fodder from their parents, and hitting the road on campus with the Chabad “Latke Truck,” set to hand out traditional potato pancakes and menorahs during lunch. “It’s a holiday about freedom and light, and is too important to miss just because of finals,” said Brackman.
And in an effort initiated by the Sydney, Australia–based family of Holocaust survivor Frank Lowy, who founded the Westfield shopping center company internationally, the shopping mall giant increased by a dozen the number of its malls worldwide in which giant Chabad-Lubavitch menorahs are displayed this year in partnership with local communities.
Echoing a message repeated endlessly worldwide by Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries to each of the countless individuals who help illuminate Chanukah for many millions worldwide, Wolff paid tribute to the Lowy family for “bringing the light of Chanukah to communities around the world through Westfield centers and their managers globally.”
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