Menorah Lighting

media release:

This Hanukkah, Madison is seeing a surge in public displays of the holiday and Jewish identity, with many more families and individuals planning to light their menorahs in visible places, such as their doors or windows. Chabad will light a public 9 foot menorah erected at Hilldale, with a community celebration on Sunday, Dec 29, the fifth night of Hanukkah. Governor Evers will be in attendance and will light the shamash. 

"At this fraught time for the Jewish community, with war in Israel and American Jews facing a major rise in antisemitism, this year we are doing more to celebrate Hanukkah with joy and Jewish pride,” said Rabbi Matusof. “The Menorah and Hanukkah represent freedom of the human spirit, freedom from tyranny and oppression, and of the victory of good over evil.”

The ceremony will feature a menorah lighting and an array of entertainment for all ages as well as a selection of traditional Hanukkah foods.

This year’s celebrations carry added significance as they mark 50 years since the first public menorah which was lit at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia in 1974. The public menorah was lit after the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, launched the worldwide Hanukkah campaign in 1973 to build awareness and promote observance of Hanukkah. Today, public menorahs and Hanukkah displays have become a staple of Jewish cultural and American public life, forever altering the American practice and perception of the festival.

This year’s Hanukkah campaign will be one of unprecedented light and joy, seeing Chabad reach more than 8 million Jews in more than 100 countries. Madison's menorah is one of over 15,000 large public menorahs throughout the world, including notable menorahs in front of the White House, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the Great Wall of China, and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.

“Celebrating Hanukkah is a potent point of light, Jewish pride and confidence for American Jews in the fight against darkness and antisemitism,” added Rabbi Matusof. "The celebration of Hanukkah underscores the G-d endowed liberty that is at the heart of what America represents.”