Hanukkah light amidst tragedies 

To the Editor:

On Sunday morning, hours before the first night of Hanukkah, I wrote to my congregation with feelings of shock and grief. Having gone to sleep the night before with news about the tragic shooting at Brown University where two students were murdered and nine injured, we awoke to the news of the horrific terrorist attack on the Jewish community in Sydney, Australia, as they were celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. At least 15 people were murdered and many more injured.

First, I want to express our deepest grief on behalf of our community for the deaths of these beautiful neshamas, these beautiful souls in Sydney and in Providence, who were gunned down with such cruel violence. For their loved ones who are experiencing such excruciating loss, there are no words. Our hearts are broken as we stand with you. We mourn with our Vineyard Chabad friends the death Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a Chabad emissary who was murdered in this attack. We pray for a complete healing and recovery for those injured, and we pray for the thousands of people who are experiencing trauma from this senseless and outrageous violence.

I would also like to share some thoughts on Hanukkah in light of the terrorist attack in Sydney. When I read the shocking news on Sunday, I thought of our own Hanukkah celebration at the Hebrew Center to take place later that night and asked myself, How can we sing and be joyful on such a day? I then thought of our Hebrew School children and the beautiful play they had rehearsed and thought, How can we allow violence of a terrorist to take Hanukkah away from them? And then I thought, When terrible things happen in the world and to our Jewish family, it is exactly the comfort of community that I seek. For me, being together on Hanukkah is both a balm and an act of faith. That first night, we lit a candle as an act of faith. We took the shamash, the “helper candle,” as a reminder that we too need to help bring the light. And we recognized that on this holiday that celebrates heroism, we honor the heroic acts of bystanders: the students who attended to the bleeding of other students in the middle of the shooting at Brown; and an unarmed bystander at Bondi Beach, Ahmed al-Ahmed, a fruit stand operator who saved many lives by tackling one of the gunmen from behind and disarming him. Those bystanders embody the deepest message of our religious and ethical traditions, that we must care for each other, stand against any and all acts of hate and violence, and ensure that the light shines for all people. Their heroism reminds us of the things big and small we can all do to bring life and kindness into the world for everyone.

Last Sunday night at the Hebrew Center, we gathered in sadness, but we left with hope. We modeled for our children the meaning of community and kindness. And we stood together in spirit among all open-hearted people throughout the world and from every religious tradition, saying no to hate and yes to love and compassion. There is another way. The message of this season is to both take that in and live it out.

I want to wish everyone of all traditions who are celebrating holidays of birth and light, possibility and hope, the courage to come together and give birth to a new era of light, blessing and peace.

In sadness and faith,
Rabbi Caryn Broitman

The Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center will have another Hanukkah celebration on Friday, Dec. 19, to which Rabbi Broitman said all are welcome to attend.