Mayor Eric Adams and Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Gilad Erdan were on hand at the world’s largest Menorah Sunday night, the first light of Chanukah. The ambassador recited the three blessings on the first light of the menorah and lit the first candle.
Throughout the eight-day holiday, many New Yorkers and visitors to the city will join the nightly lightings of the towering 36-foot menorah—certified by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest—on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street at Grand Army Plaza near Central Park, right outside of the Plaza Hotel.
Earlier that same night, the first light of the largest menorah in Brooklyn was lit at Grand Army Plaza outside Prospect Park.
The world’s largest menorah, a New York City icon, was erected at its usual location early on Thursday, Dec. 15, will brighten up the city sky through December 26, the last day of Chanukah.
With the recent surge of antisemitic incidents and the explicit expressions of these hateful sentiments by influential cultural figures, the Chabad organizers are hoping the celebration of light this year will be even larger and more joyous than ever before. They want New Yorkers of all faiths to embrace the Chanukah message that promises hate and darkness will never win.
