Baker, Wu Light 22-Foot Menorah On Boston Common

BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu helped ring in the Festival of Lights by lighting a 22-foot-tall menorah on Boston Common.

Baker and Wu joined Rabbi Marc Baker, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, to inaugurate a week of Hanukkah with the 38th annual Menorah lighting on the Common, an event sponsored by Chabad of Downtown Boston. As the sun set, Baker and Wu used a scissor lift to get to the top of the menorah, and then lit the first candle with a blowtorch, WCVB reports.

Rabbi Baker spoke of the menorah as a symbol of Jewish resilience in the face of persecution, a message that resonates amid rising antisemitism.

"That menorah is a symbol of the fact that people have tried to persecute us throughout our history. Not only physically, but culturally and spiritually — through forced assimilation, through preventing us from practicing our traditions," he said. "And, yes, Hanukkah is a reminder that that still happens today, and all of us have a responsibility to fight back and to say: 'No!'"

“Despite the many forces keeping us apart, despite how much we are trying to stay isolated, we need each other,” Mayor Wu said. “And we are showing in this city, and in every action that we take, that we can follow these same lessons of this holiday season: Of courage and perseverance triumph, and making sure that light will spread.”

“In some respects, especially in times like these, I think it’s important for us to all remember that every day ― somewhere, someplace ― there are little miracles happening,” Gov. Baker said. “They involve acts of grace and kindness and generosity. And they are, in fact, the light that pushes out the darkness, which is what this menorah these eight days of light stand for.”

The menorah lighting kicks off a week of festivities celebrating Hanukkah, which falls this year from Sunday, Nov. 28 until Monday, Dec. 6., including a Menorah Lighting and LED Show at BCA Plaza Tremont Street on Tuesday, and Menorah lightings at Copley Square and the Seaport on Sunday, Dec. 5.

See Boston.com’s full list of Hanukkah activities in and around Boston.