Jewish Center of Princeton Breaks Guinness Menorah Record
There were gold menorahs, silver menorahs and bronze menorahs; short menorahs, medium-sized menorahs and tall menorahs; ceramic menorahs, metal menorahs and glass menorahs; menorahs shaped like oil lamps, the Star of David, and Noah’s Ark.
All and all, the hangar at the Princeton Airport was filled with 835 menorahs — enough to fill every table in the space, and more than enough for the Guinness World Record for the number of menorahs lit in one place.
The Jewish Center of Princeton broke the world record of 782 menorahs previously held by New York-based Merrick Jewish Center tonight. A few thousand people gathered at the Princeton Airport for the record-breaking gathering called Chanukah for the Record.
“The Jewish Center thrilled to be hosting this,” Rabbi Adam Feldman told the crowd.. “It’s a great Jewish community event. A lot of Jewish community organizations and synagogues are here to participate.”
Families, college students and seniors all brought their menorahs to the airport to do their small part in making menorah history. When Neil Wise, Jewish Center program coordinator, announced the record-breaking number of menorahs, the crowd burst into cheers.
After Rabbi Feldman led the group in a blessing, residents from Jewish communities all over Central Jersey and Bucks County lit the candles for the fourth night of Chanukah, meaning five candles were lit per menorah.
After the candles were lit, the crowd enjoyed some Chanukah music and the glow of 4,175 candles.
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.
Proud to be part of such a fantastic community and grateful for the programming ingeniousness of Neil Wise of the Jewish Center!
there’s a reason Neil’s last name is “wise” (beyond his years)! Wonderful event! So glad to be a part of history! May the light of the evening live on in our hearts forever.