A traditional eight-branched candelabrum was installed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday ahead of the Chanukah festival, which begins on the evening of Dec. 14, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said.
The bronze menorah, or chanukiyah, which measures some 6.5 by 6.5 feet, will be lit every evening during the eight-day holiday, which runs until Dec. 22, the foundation said in a statement.
החנוכיה המסורתית "נוחתת" בכותל המערבי pic.twitter.com/hVmQINXupe
— זמן אמת (@zmanemet308) December 7, 2025
This year, the Chanukah festivities at Judaism’s second-holiest site will be held under the banner of “And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and they shall come to Zion with song” (Isaiah 51:11), in a reference to the return of the last remaining 20 living captives from Gaza on Oct. 13.
Every evening, a candle-lighting ceremony will be held in the presence of Hamas captivity survivors, public figures, injured Israeli soldiers, bereaved families, rabbis and others, according to the statement.
The events, which will be accompanied by an orchestra, will take place every day at 4:30 p.m., except for Friday, Dec. 19, and Saturday, Dec. 20, when the chanukiyah will be lit at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.
All weekday candle-lighting ceremonies will be live-streamed through the official website of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, it added.
The Chanukah holiday commemorates the story of the Maccabees, the Jewish heroes who led a revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire that culminated in a military victory and the reconsecration of the Temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount around 2,200 years ago.
