Dear Friend,

Thank you to everyone who came to our Menorah lightings this week. Your presence, your voices, and your families’ participation filled our community with light, warmth, and unity, especially meaningful in these challenging times.

This year, Chanukah shines its light into very real darkness. On the first night of Chanukah, a horrific terrorist attack targeted Jews celebrating on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where innocent families gathered to kindle the lights of hope were met with violence in an antisemitic act of terror that claimed many lives and left others injured. Many were killed, members of the Jewish community and community leaders, and the world has felt the shock and grief of this tragedy.

Chanukah teaches us about lighting candles in the darkest times, just as our ancestors kindled the menorah despite oppression and danger, refusing to hide their Jewish identity. In the same spirit, we do not retreat into the shadows, we stand proudly as Jews, we celebrate our traditions openly, and we raise our menorahs high, not out of defiance alone, but out of love for our heritage, our people, and the light that Judaism brings into the world.

In responding to hatred, we answer with light, acts of kindness, compassion, courage, and unity. Let each candle we kindle inspire us to bring more goodness into the world, through loving-kindness to our neighbors, support for those in need, and a deep determination to live joyfully as proud Jews, illuminating wherever we go. Let this Chanukah be a time not only of light chasing away darkness, but also of Jewish pride and resolve, that together we bring more hope and healing into a world that desperately needs it.

May the memories of those we’ve lost be a blessing, and may we, with resilience, unity, and pride, bring more light, more hope and more peace into the world.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah,
Rabbi Zushe Cunin