Somehow, Kislev flew by and even with all the preparations in the classroom and the knowledge that Chanuka was coming, there is always a delay when it comes to my own home. Such is the life of the Morah. 

There were many thoughts that percolated in my head this month, related to Chanuka, and the parshiyos of this month, however I did not have the time to formulate them on paper.  I will try to do so now with the goal being to offer some solace at a time that seems so dark.

We are living the Chanuka story and until Mashiach comes we will continue to do so and battle Darkness. It  is up to us find that light and fight for it. This message abounds in any Devar Torah regarding Chanuka and from a variety of sources, which is what makes the holiday of Chanuka universal.  At the same time, this is a charge for the individual  as each one of us has unique G-d given personal challenges and dark moments or situations in which we are forced to find the light somewhere  so that we can manage and ultimately thrive.  Some call this Resiliency. Clearly this is the task now on a public and national level as the Jewish People are once again thrust into the darkness of Evil by  those who wish to destroy us. B’Chol Dor V’Dor Omdim Aleinu L’Chaloseinu is not just a Pesach idea but  one that resonates all year long, with the most dramatic reminder on October 7^th.  This message also plays out by Purim, Lag B’Omer, Tisha B’Av, and even Tu B’Shvat, albeit in different manifestations, yet the message is one and the same.  There is hope, even and specifically, in the darkness. This is Resiliency of our Nationhood. 

Music is one of the ways that helps me in times of distress and is my “flashlight.”  A song that comes to mind is one that was composed when Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel, HY”D,  were kidnapped, and later discovered murdered.  In singing this song, the world was actually praying: V’Afilu B’Hastarah… Vadai Gam Sham Nimtza Hashem Yisborach. And even in the darkness, certainly there, Hashem is found. 

Other sparks of light emanate from my classroom in the form of  five-year-old boys. After reflecting on what Chanuka may now mean to the people and especially the  children of Sydney, I was sad for them and really for any child that has suffered loss at meaningful times in our Jewish calendar. Along comes Moishy (name changed) and hands me his mitzvah note with a flourish and smile and was a shot in the arm for this Morah.  His dad wrote: “ Moishy is going to do mitzvos and daven with extra Kavannah because we respond to darkness in the world with light.”  Wow. There is Light. Later,  a Kenyan woman who helped my mom and is now a family friend messaged me that she stands with our community. Another friend shared with me a video clip of her cousin, a Chabad shaliach,  lighting menorah and teaching people in his community when a Muslim man shared with him the same message and wanted to give him a hug, which he did. In the middle of the day, on my way to drop off a thank you gift for a friend, I noticed a police SUV parked by a busy shul in a quiet neighborhood. It dawned on me why he was there.  I stopped and rolled down my window and gave him a big wave in acknowledgement.  He responded with the same and with a smile. I cried.  People are kind. There is goodness. There is Light.

In Parshas VaYishlach we learn about Yaakov Avinu who went back for the Pachim Ketanim on his way back to Eretz Yisroel. When teaching Parsha to my students, I get the benefit of re-learning Parsha, through a child’s eyes and my own adult eyes.  What were in those jars?  Were they indeed oil as we are told this is a reference to Chanuka?  Was it something else? I don’t know, but what I do know is that they were important enough for Yaakov to go back and fetch them.  Perhaps this is a deeper lesson for us.  What are our jugs so to speak that represent our own values?  What is inside our personal jugs that we will seek when we realize they are forgotten? Is that the first step of survival, the recognition they were forgotten? Is this what gave Yaakov the strength to battle the Sar Shel Eisav?  Is this what we need to do now?  Even when our figurative “Gid HaNashe” is injured? Is receiving that injury what galvanized Yaakov?  Interestingly, it is after he is injured that Yaakov is the victor and is then blessed at  daybreak, with  the light imminent once again.  

This idea of the Pach is apparent in the recent video clips that came out showing  the “Special Six” hostages in the tunnels lighting Menorah.  It is incredible to watch not only to witness the mesiras nefesh on their part, but the simcha in doing the mitzvah of Ner Chanuka literally in the Dark.  This reminded me of the Six Million Jews who were butchered, who also possessed stories of the same mesirus nefesh that they carried to their deaths, stories we will never know. This darkness was unfathomable, and in spite of it, there still shone the primordial light of kindness and self-sacrifice. I am honored to wear such a spark around my neck. It is in the shape of a small golden Magen Dovid that survived Auschwitz and was gifted to my father, also an Auschwitz survivor, on the occasion of my birth.

How do we cope?  How do we celebrate the Holiday of Light with joy? It is imperative that we search for Light, but there is the next crucial step that must be performed as well.  The follow-through is to spread the light and therein lays the Joy. Another song that comes to mind is Benny Friedman’s “Light One Candle.”  The lyrics are so beautiful and relevant. This is the significance of the Menorah. As the Ramban teaches us, the light from the Menorah of the Beis Hamikdash, will never be extinguished, and neither will we. (Rabbi Simone Jacobson)

That is what I call Am Yisroel Chai.  This is Goodness. This is Humanity and I will be Joyous. As our Australian Jewish brothers and sisters light once again at Bondi Beach, let’s light with them. Chag Urim Sameach!

LiLuy Nishmas HaKedoshim of Sydney, Z'L, H'yd