By COLlive reporter
The Lubavitch Youth Organization, who annually erect and light the world’s largest menorah on Fifth Avenue, will be remembering the 30,000 lives lost to the devastating pandemic in New York and will share a message of hope and healing with its lighting each night of Chanukah.
The towering 36-foot menorah—certified by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest—will take its traditional place in Midtown Manhattan and stand as a beacon of light and hope in a time when it’s needed most–amid the bleak reality of the prospect of a second wave and renewed lockdowns.
Bright LED rope lights running the length of all eight branches will honor the victims of the pandemic and bring more light into the world, just as they did with their lives.
“For centuries, the light of the menorah has served as a symbol of the triumph of goodness and hope over darkness and hopelessness, even when the odds weren’t good,” said Rabbi Shmuel Butman, director of Lubavitch Youth Organization. “As the world reels from the devastating coronavirus pandemic, the eternal message of the menorah remains relevant and pertinent, perhaps more than ever in our lifetime: we will weather these stormy days, and inspired by our heroes and the lives of those we lost, we will come together to recover stronger as one.”
Throughout the eight-day holiday, which begins this year on Thursday evening, Dec. 11, masked and socially-distanced, a limited group of attendees will join the nightly lightings of this historic menorah on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street at Grand Army Plaza near Central Park, right outside of the Plaza Hotel.
Organized by the Lubavitch Youth Organization, the event will feature a public menorah-lighting ceremony and live music. While the event will be more limited–with distancing and masks–than years past for in-person attendance, its message of hope and light will stand tall and bright for the many thousands passing and the millions watching at home, Rabbi Butman says.
The annual New York City tradition is part of the worldwide Hanukkah campaign, an initiative launched in 1973 by the Rebbe. The campaign focuses on creating awareness and promoting the observances of the holiday, one of which is to publicize and make known the story of the Hanukkah miracle.
Today, the unprecedented public display of Hanukkah has become a staple of Jewish cultural and religious life in New York City and around the world, forever altering the practice and perception of the festival. This year, following public health guidelines, Chabad-Lubavitch will set up more than 15,000 large outdoor public menorahs in more than 100 countries around the world, including in front of landmarks such as the White House in Washington, D.C.; the Eiffel Tower in Paris; and the Kremlin in Moscow.
Over the years, the World’s Largest Menorah was lit by New York City Mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio; Govs. Mario Cuomo, George Pataki and David Paterson; U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and many other dignitaries.
The menorah was certified by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest. It was specially designed by world-renowned artist Yaacov Agam and inspired by a hand drawing by the Rambam of the original menorah in the Beis Hamikdash in Jerusalem.
Lighting Times of World’s Largest Menorah for Chanukah 5781 – 2020:
Thursday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 11 at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec 16 at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Fifth Avenue and 59th Street at Central Park
So this is in memory of all the people that died thanks to Cuomo?