May our light outshine their hatred.

It seems that all too often in recent years, just as we prepare to kindle the lights of a joyful festival, a shadow is cast over our celebration. The news from Sydney this morning is shocking, heartbreaking, and feels incredibly close to home, despite the distance.

We grieve with our brothers and sisters across the ocean, mourning the lives taken by baseless hatred, and we pray for Refuah Shleimah for all those suffering in the aftermath of this attack.

Yet perhaps this is exactly why we need Hanukkah. It is the festival that commands us to bring light into the very darkest time of the year. It also arrives with a vital message of resilience, pride, and the stubborn refusal to despair. We must stand together and not allow those who hate us to push us out of public spaces or force us to hide who we are. We will not retreat. Instead, we will continue to do our part in creating a just and kind world, meeting darkness with light.

I invite you to light your Hanukkiah tonight with a renewed sense of purpose. Let us light the candles in memory of the victims, but let the flames also serve as a signal to the world that we have not given up on a better future.

May our light outshine their hatred.

Hanukkah Sameach

Rabbi Adrian