National Menorah Lit in Washington, DC

Photos: Shimi Kutner, Ronald M. Sachs

This year marked the 40th anniversary celebration of the National Menorah.

Thousands of people made their way to The Ellipse, just across from The White House in Washington, DC, to participate in a special lighting ceremony and celebration.

This year’s event reached a record amount of people, with over 50 million seeing it on over 1,000 national and local TV newscasts in all 50 US states and around the world, according to professional news monitoring firms.

In addition to “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band Army Band, expertly conducted by Capt. Bryn P. Sherlock, USMC, and the Three Cantors – Jeff Nadel (Musical Director), Yaakov Motzen, and Schneur Zalman Baumgarten, the crowd were treated to a pre-event performance by noted Jewish musical icon Avraham Rosenblum.

Isabelle Alperin (Mazel Day School – Brooklyn, NY) and Shayna Bronchtain (Desert Torah Academy – Las Vegas, NV) read their winning entries in the Rabbi Mendy Deren Memorial National Menorah Essay Contest. They were presented with a special Merit Coin by the US Secretary of Interior, Hon. David Bernhardt, after the ceremony.

They were followed by Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, Executive Chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad – the international Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and founder of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) as well as the National Menorah program, who reminded everyone of the message of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, about “bringing the wellsprings to the outside in the current environment.”

The US Marine Band played special Chanukah selections, including a really warm welcome for Dreidelman and a special rendition of Siman Tov to mark the special occasion.

United States Interior Secretary, Hon. David l. Bernhardt, represented and brought greetings on behalf of The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence and the Administration. Secretary Bernhardt expressed his deep satisfaction at seeing this event occur on such prestigious space (The Ellipse, President’s Park, falls under the purview of the National Park Service, a division of the Department of the Interior), as well his strong support for the Jewish people, here, in Israel and all over the world, and shared in the proclaimed eternity of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Secretary noted how the ancient Holy Temple, so central to the story of Chanukah, stood in Jerusalem, which “was, is and always be the capital of Israel.”

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) and organizer of the event, related how colleagues were presenting organizing well over 15,000 similar events across the US and in over 100 countries around the world. He also noted the management role assumed by Rabbi Menachem Shemtov in the organization of the National menorah program. He was assisted by a team of bochurim form the Lubavitch Mesivta in Baltimore, MD.

Secretary Bernhardt, Rabbis Abraham Shemtov and Rabbi Levi Shemtov then proceeded to light the National Menorah to the delight of over 3,500 participants.

Thousands of hot latkes, donuts and free menorah kits and guides were distributed to the crowd after the lighting.

This was part of a series of events and programs with over 1,00 participants in Chanukah celebrations at The US Capitol, The International Monetary Fund, USAID, The Pentagon, malls, centers, DC neighborhoods including Dupont Circle, Spring Valley, Georgetown and the Capitol Hill community, a huge young professionals event, Chanukah family fun day, as well as students at The George Washington, Georgetown, and American Universities prior to their departure for Winter Break.

Organizers also offered to send a free menorah kit, while supplies last, to anyone who requests one at [email protected] (Contributions to support these efforts can also be made at that site.) Since the event, requests for menorahs and materials have come in from across the US, as far away as Alaska and Hawaii, even Puerto Rico and the US Marshall Islands.

All in a day’s work to create light. Happy Chanukah!
VIDEO: Full event replay