Photos: Richard Shaffer
Long after the Metropolitan Museum of Art had closed on Saturday night, hundreds of members of the Chabad Young Professionals Upper East Side community assembled at its sweeping front steps. Despite the late hour the group arrived to mark a historic milestone: the first public menorah lighting ever held at this iconic NYC cultural institution on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Under a crisp December night sky, onlookers and participants gathered near the base of the museum’s towering columns. Seventh-grader and young UES Shlucha Menucha Wilhelm began the program by invoking Chanukah’s origins. “When I light the Menorah, I think of the joy they felt after winning the war against the mighty Greeks,” she said, drawing a parallel between the historical challenges that faced the Jewish people and today’s triumph of being free to celebrate openly. “Even now, in our freedom, there are still people trying to intimidate us… But we know the truth, that there is nothing to be afraid of.”
Young Shliach and 5th grader Mendel Wilhelm offered brief reflections on the significance of celebrating Chanukah at a venue known for housing relics from past civilizations. “The Greek Empire who tried to attack and assimilate us… Where are they now?” he asked, gesturing toward the Met’s galleries. “They’re artifacts, displayed in glass cases inside this building, while we’re here—alive, breathing,” he said.
Soon after the Menorah was kindled, Jewish superstar Yoni Z and musician Chony Milecki led a round of spirited Chanukah songs. The upbeat music quickly sparked spontaneous dancing, with attendees joining hands to form circles in front of the museum’s broad steps. “It felt almost surreal,” said Yoni. “You see this building countless times, but never like this—alive with music and late-night Chanuka celebration.”
On a similar chilly Saturday night fifty years prior, the very first public menorah was lit in Philadelphia. Now, fifty years later, the Met’s steps hosted this historic celebration, symbolizing the enduring strength of the Rebbe’s vision for the powerful impact of these public displays of religious freedom.
Attendees noted that while menorah lightings in public squares and other prominent locations have grown common over the last half-century, hosting one on the Met’s iconic steps added a fresh dimension. “People expect to see historical treasures inside,” said Rachel Lauren Zikvashvili, a young tech founder from the Upper East Side who participated in the historic evening together with her husband Yakov. “Tonight, we brought our own living tradition to the forefront, for everyone to see,” she said.
The festive scene lasted for hours, those who gathered were united by the sense that a new page had been added to Chanukah’s modern story—As Yakov put it, “We made history tonight under the Met’s arches. That’s something none of us will forget.”
