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About an hour after sundown on Sunday, a hydraulic lift hoisted several people, including a rabbi, to the top of a 36-foot steel menorah erected in front of The Plaza Hotel on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Hundreds of spectators gathered to see the gold-painted, 4,000-pound menorah, undeterred by a light rain. Shortly after the people reached the top, the candelabrum’s right oil lantern flickered to life, kicking off Hanukkah, the eight-day celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights.

The giant menorah, which shined bright against the dark fog that blanketed Central Park, has been lit hundreds of times by rabbis, mayors and governors. It has long been a joyous fixture of the holiday season in New York City since it was first erected in 1977.

But, for many, this year was different. For them, the annual Hanukkah ritual felt more significant in the wake of a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue in October that left 11 dead. The Anti-Defamation League described the rampage, by a man who shouted anti-Semitic slurs as he opened fire, as the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in the United States.

“Everybody is hurting now,” said Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman, the director of the Lubavitch Youth Organization, which first put up the menorah four decades ago. “We are all Pittsburgh survivors, and we’re hurting because the ugly head of anti-Semitism is now showing and, unfortunately, it’s contagious.”

He added: “The menorah delivers a message of strength, of inspiration. The menorah says, ‘Listen, if things are not that good today, tomorrow is another day and a brighter day, and tomorrow you are going to light another candle.’”

Hanukkah, historically a relatively minor Jewish holiday that grew increasingly popular as an alternative to Christmas, is typically emblematic of everything good and positive in the Jewish tradition.

This year, in the face of growing anti-Semitism nationwide, the celebration also seemed like a fitting occasion to reflect and vow resilience.

“The Jews have always been persecuted throughout the years,” said Ben Elmen, 25, of Brooklyn, who was attending the ceremony for the first time. “I think that every year we must be ever vigilant and spreading the light.”

He added: “Hanukkah is the celebration of Jews overcoming darkness. The unity shows that when Jews come together we can create a lot of light and show solidarity to the rest of the world.”

The giant menorah is considered to be the largest permissible one in the world; under Jewish law, menorahs should not be taller than 32 feet so that worshipers do not strain their necks to see it.

Rabbi Butman said the menorah erected in Midtown is actually 36 feet tall when taking into account the shamash, the middle candle that helps light the other eight. A similar one in Brooklyn has been measured at 31 feet.

A 62-foot menorah erected in Indonesia in 2009 is possibly the world’s largest, but Rabbi Butman said “62 feet tall cannot be a kosher menorah” under Jewish law.

On Sunday evening, the shamash was lit by Ron Agam, the son of Yaacov Agam, the Israeli sculptor who designed the giant menorah. The first oil lantern of the holiday was lit by Rotem Rosen, a real estate developer, and his two children.

Also on Sunday, a Columbia University professor whose office was defaced with spray-painted swastikas on Wednesday was scheduled to light a menorah in front of the campus library. The vandalism is being investigated as a hate crime, and was the latest incident in a series of anti-Semitic attacks — including the defacing of a Brooklyn synagogue with the phrase “Die Jew Rats” — that have unsettled the city.

Statistics show that a majority of hate crimes in New York City are directed against Jews. Anti-Semitic hate crimes are up 18 percent compared with last year, according to the Police Department.

“A difficult situation has unraveled against, not only Jews, but other minorities,” said Jacque Ergas, 63, who was visiting from Chile with his wife. “The U.S. was always the emblem, and we thought that nothing like that would happen here,” he said, referring to the Pittsburgh attack.

“This is a special year.”

Follow Luis Ferré-Sadurní on Twitter: @luisferre

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