A 6-foot tall menorah was stolen from Washington Square Park in San Francisco over the weekend. It was last seen on Friday, December 23, by Rabbi Peretz Mochkin of the North Beach Chabad.
It was a menorah lighting like no other, with a Chasidic rabbi dancing hand in hand with a kafiya-clad Muslim man in the tiny Persian Gulf country of Bahrain, located off the northeast coast of Saudi Arabia.
The second light of the Menorah was lit Sunday night in the Champ de Mars park in Paris, underneath the Eiffel Tower, with thousands of people in attendance.
Chabad of Essex, UK, kicked off the first two nights of Chanukah with two Menorah lightings in two towns, which – despite the clash with local holidays – brought out huge impressive crowds, showing the true strength and real Jewish Pride which often lays beneath the surface of this community.
This is the twenty fifth year in a row that the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar, lit the Chanuka candles in Moscow’s Red Square, and every year he feels the same surge of excitement as he pronounces the words “she’asa nissim la’avoseynu bayamim hahem bizman hazeh.” When the crowd roars “amen” in reply, the words echo and reverberate off of the Kremlin fortress.
Appropriately enough, it was the flame-topped wicks swaying high above Milwaukee Avenue that brought singing and dancing to the streets of Chicago’s famous Wicker Park neighborhood.
The Mayor of Kiryat Gat, Israel, Mr. Aviram Dehari, joined the pubic Menorah lighting hosted by Chabad in a show of solidarity to the Rov of the city, Rabbi Moshe Havlin, who has been the target of a harassment campaign in recent months by opponents of the IDF draft of Orthodox Jews.
Sushi-making and holiday giving were the themes of Chabad of Orange County’s recent Women’s Circle event at the Chabad Center in Chester, NY.
A visit from New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and a rocking concert by the Moshav band enthralled some 1,000 people who packed into the pedestrian area at Grand Army Plaza for the lighting of Brooklyn’s Largest Menorah.
Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel presented Kansas Governor Sam Brownback with a custom-made dreidel during a Chanukah celebration at the state Capitol.
History was made today in the suburb of Paddington in Sydney, Australia. Since its establishment in the mid-1800s, there has never been a public Menorah lighting in the suburb. Today, the first day of Chanukah, CBD-Chabad hosted Paddington’s first ever Public Menorah Lighting, with some 50 members of the Sydney Jewish community in attendance.
A visit from New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and a rocking concert by the Moshav band enthralled some 1,000 people who packed into the pedestrian area at Grand Army Plaza for the lighting of Brooklyn’s Largest Menorah.
As Chanukah quickly approaches, preparations are in full swing at the Baltimore City Hall. On Wednesday, December 21st, the Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, together with City Council President Jack Young, City Comptroller Pratt, and members of the City council, welcomed City Hall’s 6-foot Menorah, which is proudly displayed in the heart of the building.
For decades, Shluchim have shared the miracles of Chanukah with the world in ever more exciting public ways. Now they – and you, too – can harness the power of the internet to bring Chanukah to the furthest corners of the globe. No permits required!
Thirty years ago, on December 22, 1986 – 20 Kislev, 5747, President Ronald Reagan received a delegation of Chabad Rabbis in the Oval Office in honor of Chanukah. Led by Rabbi Avraham Shemtov of American Friends of Lubavitch, the Shluchim from across the United States presented the President with a special Menorah.
Chabad of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) hosted their third annual (pre) Chanukah Menorah lighting and cocktail dinner celebration during the last sitting week for 2016 of the ACT Parliament’s calendar on December 14th.
The Largest Chanukah Menorah in Brooklyn will proudly stand at the monumental Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. The first candle will be lighted on Saturday evening December 24, at 7:00 pm.
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