‘As darkness shows its face again, we increase the light. We do not step back from Jewish life’

Chanukah is the moment when Jewish life steps outside. We place the menorah where it can be seen, lighting it at nightfall for all to notice. It is a quiet act, but also a courageous one. Chanukah teaches us that Jewish light is not meant to be hidden, especially when the world feels uncertain.

This year, Chanukah arrives in the shadow of horror. Jews across England have been shaken by the brutal terror attack at a Chabad Chanukah gathering in Sydney. A celebration of warmth and faith was turned into a scene of devastation. Jews were murdered, many others were injured, and families and communities were left traumatised. What happened there was not distant. When Jews are targeted for being Jewish in one place, Jews everywhere feel it.

We mourn every life taken and hold in our thoughts and prayers all those who were wounded. Among the victims was Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a fellow Chabad rabbi and dear colleague, who grew up in London before dedicating his life to serving Jewish communities overseas. His work in Sydney reflected the work of Chabad rabbis across this country: opening doors, inviting people in, and helping Jews feel proud of who they are. But this was not an attack on one individual. It was an assault on a Jewish community gathered in joy.

In moments like this, we look for guidance. Just a few weeks ago when Rabbi Schlanger was asked about the appropriate response to rising antisemitism, his reply was: “Be more Jewish, act more Jewish and appear more Jewish.” Those words resonate now, not because of who said them, but because of how they were lived – through public menorah lightings, through reaching Jews wherever they were, and through making Jewish identity something warm, confident and visible.