I have lit the Chanukah candles in places all around the world. I have recited the blessings in Jerusalem and Eilat, New York and Los Angeles, in my home and in hotels.
I cannot help but to compare last night’s candle lighting with last year’s candle lighting.
On the Shabbat of Chanukah, just two months after October 7th, our family lit the candles and closed the window shades. There was a large anti-Israel protest in the neighborhood, and the signs people carried put fear into our souls. We did the exact opposite of pirsumei nisa, publicizing the miracle. We went into hiding. That night, local institutions in Westwood were tagged with antisemitic graffiti.
It was heartbreaking sharing with our children the reason we lit the candles in private.
Last night, as we lit the second candle, Sinai Temple made history, lighting a chanukiah in Westwood Village for the first time.
With over 100 participants gathered, we sang the songs of the Maccabees, brought light into each other’s lives, and provided a moment of joy for the entire community.
We concluded with Hatikvah, praying for the continued safe return of the hostages, our brothers and sisters in IDF uniforms, and the safety of our families and friends who this week were forced into shelters in the middle of the night by Houthi terrorists.
And yet, each of us, no matter where we were in the world, lit a second candle, making the chanukiah glow a bit brighter. As my colleague and friend Rabbi Leor Sinai says each week on his Facebook post, “Am Yisrael chai, it’s not just a slogan, it’s a way of life.”
May this way of life brighten our days.
