Jewish group seeks record for hot air balloon menorah

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico Jewish group is organizing a special event on New Year's Eve in hopes of winning a spot in the record books for the world's only menorah made from hot air balloons. Chabad of New Mexico says the menorah will be made up of nine balloons that will inflate at Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta Park, which hosts the famous international balloon fiesta each October. Chabad Rabbi Chaim Schmukler says the menorah will celebrate religious freedom and Jewish pride the New Mexican way. Organizers say the event will have added significance as it marks 75 years since the influential Rabbi Menachem Schneerson came to America and laid the groundwork for the Chanukah campaign that he set into motion years later. The campaign encouraged Jews worldwide to light their own menorah.