Independence Mall became a gathering place and a source of light for Philadelphia’s Jewish community on Saturday night. Cars moved in a caravan with neon menorahs lit on their roofs, music played, families danced together, and a crowd gathered in front of a massive menorah, marking the seventh night of Hanukkah in the city.
What brought everyone together this night was simple yet profound: “The message of Hanukkah is the message of light over darkness, that we have to be strong, and we have to be together,” said Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, executive director of Jewish Heritage Programs. “That is a message for the whole world.”
The Philly Chanukah Parade, organized by the Philadelphia Lubavitcher Center, is part of a tradition that was born in that very place. In 1974, on the same site in front of Independence Hall, Philadelphia hosted its first large-scale public menorah lighting, a gesture that would later be replicated in cities around the world. Since then, celebrating Hanukkah in public has become an annual tradition in the city…