The first candle on the National Menorah was lit on December 10, during an annual ceremony at the White House Ellipse marking the first night of Hanukkah. The American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) celebrated the 42nd lighting of the 30-foot-tall menorah in Washington, DC, with speeches, live music by the US Navy Band, and a dancing dreidel, as seen in live footage shared by Chabad. “This year, things are very, very different,” Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of Chabad, said. “Instead of having several thousand participants huddled, what we have is a socially distanced crowd in order to assure everyone’s safety and comfort in a way which we have never known in this generation.” Credit: Chabad.org via Storyful
