Speaking the first night of Chanukah from atop a cherry picker at the lighting of the world’s largest menorah at the corner of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams declared that “we know what the Rebbe did for all of us,” referring to the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

Adams, the outgoing Brooklyn Borough President who earlier served as a New York State Senator representing parts of the borough including the Crown Heights neighborhood, was elected the 110th mayor of New York in November. Rabbi Shmuel Butman, the director of the Lubavitch Youth Organization in New York, which puts up the Yaacov Agam-designed menorah every year, made mention of Adams’ years of service in the New York City Police Department before running for elective office when he thanked New York’s Finest for keeping the overflowing crowd gathered to witness the menorah-lighting safe and secure.

“The menorah stands as a symbol of light and determination for all people regardless of race, religion, color and creed,” said Butman.

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Speaking from the 36-foot pinnacle of the menorah, Adams said that “as a member of the Brooklyn community, and the rich Crown Heights community, we know what the Rebbe did for all of us and how he spread the importance of Chanukah, and the celebrations that we are seeing all over the world now.” The Rebbe, he continued, directed the opening of “Chabad Houses ... to spread the importance of living in unity so I’m proud to be here and participate in this moment as we bring our city back together.”

The Rebbe launched theChanukah campaign in 1973, encouraging one and all to reach out to those around them and share the light and message of Chanukah with their fellow Jews and humanity at large.

“The symbol of light is universal for all people on earth, Jews and non-Jews,” the Rebbe wrote to President Jimmy Carter, thanking him for his participation in the menorah-lighting ceremony outside of the White House in 1980. “The intrinsic power of light, in that even a small light dispels a lot of darkness, is surely a source of inspiration to all men of good will with its eternal message of the eventual triumph of all that is good and bright in human life.”

The Yaacov Agam-designed menorah stands 32-feet tall at its branches, the tallest allowed according to Jewish law for a kosher menorah, with the shamash helper candle topping out at 36 feet.
The Yaacov Agam-designed menorah stands 32-feet tall at its branches, the tallest allowed according to Jewish law for a kosher menorah, with the shamash helper candle topping out at 36 feet.

As part of the Chanukah campaign, which today sees Chabad-Lubavitch distribute 700,000 tin menorah kits, 2.5 million brochures in 17 languages and 64 million menorah candles around the world, the Rebbe also encouraged the prominent public display of menorahs. The first public menorah went up in Philadelphia in 1974, followed the next year by a 25-foot menorah on Union Square in San Francisco. The Fifth Avenue menorah first went up in Manhattan’s Grand Army Plaza in 1977.

In 1985, the late Atara Ciechanover approached the Rebbe with a vision for a beautiful menorah to be placed at the crossroads of the world. With the Rebbe’s blessings, she drafted the sculptor Yaacov Agam to design the new menorah, which was met with the Rebbe’s approval. The Agam menorah, whose branches stand 32-feet high—the tallest allowed by Jewish law for a kosher menorah—with the shamash helper topping out at 36 feet, has gone up every year since. Every New York mayor since Abe Beame has participated in the lighting ceremony.

For many years, Adams (atop the cherry picker, second from left), who was elected the 110th mayor of New York in November, represented Crown Heights in the State Senate, a neighborhood the Rebbe insisted not be abandoned beginning in the 1960s.
For many years, Adams (atop the cherry picker, second from left), who was elected the 110th mayor of New York in November, represented Crown Heights in the State Senate, a neighborhood the Rebbe insisted not be abandoned beginning in the 1960s.

The Rebbe was a longtime citizen of New York who cared deeply for its state of affairs. When scores of city-dwellers fled to the suburbs beginning in the 1960s, the Rebbe held the line, insisting neighborhoods and communities not be abandoned, including his own in Crown Heights. When then-Mayor John Lindsay visited the Rebbe in 1968 amid widespread rioting and societal decay, the Rebbe told him that it was his and New York City’s “opportunity to show an example” of good governance for the entire “world.”

“We need each other, no matter how challenging it is, we know New Yorkers are resilient, strong and we’re people of faith,” Adams said in his message on Sunday night. “And I say to all of you and your families: Have a happy and safe Chanukah!”

When then-Mayor John Lindsay visited the Rebbe in 1968 amid widespread rioting and societal decay, the Rebbe told him that it was his and New York City’s “opportunity to show an example” of good governance for the entire “world.”
When then-Mayor John Lindsay visited the Rebbe in 1968 amid widespread rioting and societal decay, the Rebbe told him that it was his and New York City’s “opportunity to show an example” of good governance for the entire “world.”