Nine years ago, when Melissa Seltzer was an entry level staff member at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, the JCC held an event that she really loved.
That event was a communitywide building of the world’s largest Lego menorah. It was a novel way to celebrate Chanukah that spoke to people of all ages in the community, while also adding a layer of intrigue — even if the record set that day was unofficial.
Now, Seltzer is the senior director of arts and culture at the same JCC, and she, along with the rest of the team, is bringing the event back.
On Dec. 18 at the Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC, the community will gather for the fifth night of Chanukah and the building of a massive Lego menorah that will only be rivaled by the one that they built a decade ago.
So far, 50 families have signed up to pitch in, with more expected.
“It really resonates in a different way,” Seltzer said. “[We chose] Legos for a couple of reasons. Legos speak to an older kid audience, too — it’s not just a baby program, it’s for all ages. Adults love Legos. Grandparents love Legos. It’s something everyone can do.”
Families will be grouped together and given tasks for assembly, with the final step being to put everything together.
The logistics of setting an official world record are too complex, with the Guinness World Records organization requiring months’ notice and a way to verify the achievement.
However, what will be built at the JCC later this month will unquestionably contend for the title of “World’s Tallest Lego Menorah.” In fact, it will be so big that a lift will be needed to put on the finishing touches.
“It’s going to be bigger than anything we’ve seen before,” Seltzer said.
The event is being organized with an architect named Stephen W. Schwartz who runs a company called Building Blocks Workshops. One of the things this company does is contract out the Legos necessary to build large-scale projects like this. Staff travel to the sites where the Lego projects are being assembled and help explain the process as well as provide guidance.
The fact that such a menorah was built one time before doesn’t detract from how special this night will be for the community, Seltzer said.
“All the pieces will come together, all the levels of the menorah come together with the whole community, so there’s a lot of symbolism in that. I love that it is so large and big and grand — what a statement for Chanukah. One of the mitzvot is ‘publicizing the miracles,’” she said. “What better way to say loudly and proudly, ‘We are so proud to be Jewish, and we are proud of our Jewish history and the strength that we have the miracles that come upon us,’ and so it’s just an [application] of that feeling.”
The community is thrilled to be a part of this. Seltzer said that all the feedback the JCC has gotten thus far is positive and full of excitement.
As for what’s different than nine years ago when a similar build took place, Seltzer summed up the 2025 effort simply: “Bigger and better,” she said.
That menorah nearly a decade ago stood 12 feet tall. While this one can’t be measured until it’s actually built, Seltzer said it will surely be taller.
When the menorah is completed and the top is lit, with menorah-builders and their families cheering, it will be a proud moment for all involved. For Seltzer, this is another chance to help the community feel more intertwined, and more proud to be Jewish. There is plenty to celebrate this time of year, but nothing is more important than celebrating their own Jewish resolve at a time when it is being tested every day.
“People love celebrating Chanukah and the community. You know, the Rockettes in New York have Christmas really locked in for the holiday. We want kids to be as excited about being Jewish as other people in the community are about their holidays,” she said. “We want it to be cool. We want it to be part of their lives. What better way to do that than entering through Legos?”
