Bondi Beach Will Only Make Us Stronger

The horrific attack in Sydney feels painfully close to home. A moment meant to spread light and joy was shattered by darkness, taking the life of a beloved Chabad Shliach and 14 others - leaving families and communities broken.

It hit so hard because it was targeted at the very first public Menorah lighting of the year - a moment when Jewish light was about to shine out into the world.

They wanted to send a message of fear.

They wanted us to hide, to shrink, to doubt the power of our flame.

But they don’t understand our story.

Our flame was born in darkness.

For over 2,000 years, it has survived every attempt to extinguish it, but it doesn’t break and it doesn’t disappear. It shines - sometimes even brighter because of the darkness around it.

As the Rebbe taught us, “Every blow meant to break us becomes a reason to grow stronger.”

So today, we mourn deeply, pray for the families who are grieving and for the wounded who are fighting to recover.

And at the same time, we reaffirm who we are as a people.

We respond to darkness with more light. We respond to hate with more love. We respond to fear with courage, unity, and Jewish pride.

There are many that were understandably scared to attend public Menorah lightings this year. But the Jewish way is not to hide. That would be giving in to their terror. The Jewish way is to celebrate Chanukah together as a community and kindle the Menorah together as one family.

At Chabad Chayil’s Great Chanukah Fair this year, over a thousand people came together and showed the world loud and clear that Am Yisrael Chai.

Please show up at a Chanukah event near you.

This year even many non-Jews were setting up large display Menorahs wherever possible. There were several different options available at many online sources.

We hope and pray for an end to all violence in the world and the eradication of all evil. We know that at the end, goodness and light will prevail, and that even though we are outnumbered, righteousness will endure.

We wish thaty you and your family had a very happy Chaunkah with days filled with light, warmth, joy and always increased positive energy, just like the Menorah lights that increased with each day.

May the memory of the victims be a blessing. May healing come swiftly to the wounded.

And may the lights of Chanukah have brought comfort, strength, and hope to Jews everywhere.

Now it's the turn for each and every one of us to be the Light — now more than ever.

About the author:

Rabbi Kievman together with his wife are the ambassadors of The Rebbe to Highland Lakes, FL. They are the Founders of Gan Chabad Preschool, your local CTeen & CKids chapters, CHAP - an afterschool program for Jewish children in Public Schools and direct Chabad Chayil. He’s the Rabbi at The Family Shul and can be reached at: (305) 770-1919. Or: rabbi@ChabadChayil.org. You can also support the community with your partnership at: https://ChabadChayil.org/Partner.