Public Menorahs: Symbol of religion or freedom of religion?

In the “no good deed goes unpunished” file, let’s talk about Hanukkah for a moment.

Specifically, let’s talk about a group of folks so joyfully celebrating the miracle of Hanukkah that they’ve incited multiple Jewish communities, rabbis and the ACLU to sue them over their fervent commitment to publicly fulfill the mitzvah of lighting the Hanukkah menorah.

“What?” you say. That’s inconceivable. How could anyone in this great country of religious freedom argue that lighting a Hanukkiyah is in any way unlawful? Well, it’s an issue that’s been in the news since 1974 when Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Avraham Shemtov lit the first public menorah in front of Independence Hall, where our country’s famed Liberty Bell is housed.

That simply crafted 4-foot menorah has inspired thousands of public menorah lightings throughout the United States and abroad.

Today it’s almost commonplace to see hundreds or thousands of people attending public Hanukkah menorah lightings on the grounds of statehouses, monuments, capitols, even in front of the White House. This idea of public lightings is credited to a line of American Chabad Houses, which began seeking out public spaces for Hanukkah celebrations back in 1987 when Chabad Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson, z”l, came out with the first directive encouraging a global Hanukkah menorah campaign.

But it hasn’t been an easy path. The American Jewish Congress, the ACLU, and various Jewish communities and civil municipalities across the United States have challenged those celebrations on the grounds that the mere presence of a menorah on public property violates the First Amendment right to maintain a separation of church and state. Lawsuits across the country were filed challenging the public celebrations, and in 1989 constitutional attorney Nathan Lewin argued the case on behalf of Chabad before the Supreme Court. His arguments centered on the idea that lighting a menorah on public grounds is a symbol of religious freedom and that this celebration of liberty does not in any way represent government endorsement of one religion over another.

But even after a favorable Supreme Court outcome in 1989, the legality of public menorah lightings continues to be challenged across the country. With a mixture of rulings in appellate courts throughout the United States, the issue is far from over. The question of how something so positive like a menorah, the symbol of light’s victory over darkness, can be seen as a threat to religious freedom baffles many rabbis to this day.

“When I put up the first public menorah (in Arizona), everyone came out against it,” says Rabbi Zalman Levertov, co-director of Chabad in Phoenix. “But every day many, many people came by with their families to show them the menorah. This is one of the most important lessons we can give to our children – to be proud of who they are and that they have no need to hide that.”

In fact the public lighting of Hanukkah menorahs has created a deep sense of religious pride within the hearts of young and old alike.

“For myself, as a youngster, and now for my children, Hanukkah is so much more fun and celebratory,” says Chabad of Arizona Rabbi Dov Levertov. “We have a menorah across from the State Capitol in downtown Phoenix … and when my young boys come out of the car and look at the giant menorah, their eyes twinkle with excitement.”
A public menorah can have deep meaning for adults.

“Many adult Jews were brought up in countries and times where religious affiliation and practice were hidden,” says Rabbi Dov Levertov, noting our country was founded on principles of freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. “These adults have a revival of sorts in their Jewishness and observance when they partake in and experience these grand and public celebrations, something that was unheard of and even dangerous when they were young.”

Chabad of Mesa Rabbi Laib Blotner concurs: “Public menorahs have played a major part in the popularity of Hanukkah over the last 30 years. The menorah campaign, initiated by Chabad, is but one component of Chabad’s goal of bringing Judaism ‘outward.’ I know many in my community, and in cities worldwide, who have become involved in the Jewish community as a result of attending a public menorah lighting. The public lightings have the ability to kindle (no pun intended) their participation in Judaism.”

Still, there are other arguments against public menorah lightings. Some rabbis believe that the mitzvah of lighting the menorah should be done modestly and that the menorah should be placed by the entryway to one’s home to fulfill the mitzvah of spreading the Hanukkah miracle. Rabbi Lior Engelmann of Israel writes (as translated by Teddy Weinberger), “We put the candle in the entrance to the home to show that the special light of the Jewish home succeeded in lighting up the darkness more than the brilliance and blasting of Greek culture.”

While the idea of “publicizing” the Hanukkah miracle is certainly grounded in Jewish Talmudic text, the question of how to do that is still hotly debated by communities and rabbis around the world. Rabbi Engelman continues, “When we publicize the Jewish spirit that valiantly stood against the spirit of the Greeks, when we advertise the victory of the world of faith over the world ruled by gods and laws of nature, we need to advertise in a precise way. Jewish gentleness was victorious; the spirit of the Jewish family triumphed over all the decrees that sought to defile the underpinnings of the Jewish family. It is not possible to advertise gentleness and purity with shouts; one cannot market pure values of home in the middle of a noisy street. Not by chance were candles chosen: A gentle light that does not blind, that does not try to force the eye to look at it.”

Others argue that lighting these giant Hanukkiyot in public arenas fuels a shallow attempt to compete with the commercialism of Christmas. Rabbi Blotner disagrees: “I don’t believe at all that the public menorah commercializes the holiday. Rather, it gives Jews all over the world an opportunity to celebrate the holiday. The reality is that it is inevitable that people will make a comparison between Hanukkah and non-Jewish holidays. However, that should not stop us from celebrating our holiday.”

So this year, as you light your family menorah, check out the glowing candles that burn publicly around the world all the way from Bangkok to Barcelona and California to Connecticut. While there may be disagreements about the practice, the Chabad public menorah campaign continues to grow and spread around the globe.
“I sometimes wonder what Hanukkah would look like in America if not for the public displays,” says Rabbi Dov Levertov. “And what would world Jewry as a whole be like if not for the inspiration and growth spurred on by the Jewish pride of Hanukkah and the Chabad public menorahs.”

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