When the sun goes down Thursday evening, the first candle on the Hanukkah menorah will be lit in Jewish homes and in public spaces, sending the eons-old message that light defeats the darkness, even in the midst of war, say area rabbis.
“There’s a tremendous amount of darkness in the world today. There’s a tremendous amount of suffering in the world today. There’s a tremendous amount of injustice and terror in the world today,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Adler of Beth David synagogue in West Hartford.
While the war and suffering is front and center, Connecticut rabbis also said Hanukkah is a time to seek unity, inspiration and joy.
“And the timeliness of this holiday with current events is profound. For it gives everybody who practices the holiday and observes its traditions an opportunity to light a candle and spread the light,” Adler said.
“Light represents hope. Light represents knowledge. Light is a symbol of optimism and confidence.”
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, celebrates the miracle of the lamp oil lasting eight days when the Maccabees defeated the Seleucids and rededicated the Second Temple in the second century B.C.E.
Adler focused on miracles, but not on miracles sent by God.
“One of the messages my congregation will be hearing from me this coming weekend is that there are many different ways of categorizing miracles,” he said. “The most celebrated on calendars are those miracles that we believe are trickle down, meaning they came from heaven intending to impact the quality of the human experience.”
Such miracles performed by God include freeing the Jews from slavery in Egypt.
“There are other miracles which I will contend … are trickle up,” Adler said. “We make miracles happen when we recognize the strength that comes in numbers, that comes in solidarity, that comes through unity, when large numbers of people come together for common cause, and that cause is reflective of what is believed to be the will of God, the best interest of humankind.”
Now is a time when the world needs more “trickle-up” miracles, Adler said.
“The prophet Isaiah foretold a day when farm tools would replace weapons and feeding humankind will replace killing human beings,” he said.
“And if it happens, it will be trickle up. And it’ll be based on the choices that people make,” he said.
“The entire theme of Hanukkah is not just the general concept of freedom but really the idea of overcoming darkness,” said Rabbi Yosef Wolvovitz of the Chabad Jewish Center in Glastonbury.
“What it really is about is searching within to find our own energy … our own essence and our own spirit, and to reignite it,” he said. “So if ever there was a time that we have to be strong in our identity, and allow our souls to shine bright, I think it’s now.”
Wolvovitz said he was thinking about the Israeli-Hamas war, but not only about that.
“We have obviously an external enemy that is causing us to be deeply united, and to be deeply committed,” he said. “But I think, especially in America but I would say in all free countries of the world, we also have the ability to self-inspire, to take the message of Hanukkah inside out, not just outside in.
“When I say there could not be a better time for Hanukkah than this, I’m referring more to the idea of us looking at the tradition, looking at the story, looking at our own identity, and trying to fortify that, not only because of external forces but also because of an internal inspiration.”
For Rabbi Michael Pincus of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, the holiday means more because of the war.
“It’s still a joyful time,” he said. “And I will say the story of Hanukkah in some ways resonates more with me this year because it’s a story about how a few were able to overcome against all odds and survive. And it’s inspiring.”
Despite the suffering, Pincus said he looks at the positives.
“In terms of the war, in terms of all the hardships, all the suffering — the miracles that have come out of the darkness of the war, of people who survived and who had the courage to stand up,” he said.
“Among a lot of the sad stories of the war there have been some remarkable stories of people going above and beyond and saving lives. Modern-day Maccabees,” he said.
“We’re still worried about what’s going to happen next, and so it’s hard,” Pincus said. “But on the flip side, it’s also a time of joy and time with family and full blessings and such.”
Rabbi Alan Lefkowitz of Temple Beth Torah in Wethersfield focused on how “the Jewish people have always been known for bringing light to darkness … especially this time of year as the sun sets so much earlier.”
With a war being fought, “where there’s a lot of darkness for the Jewish people, we want to always remember that we can create light, not only for ourselves but creating light for others as well,” he said.
“But we also remember that there are other people suffering in the world as well, that we want to also make sure that we’ve (been able) to bring light to them,” Lefkowitz said.
In West Hartford, the annual “Chanukah Fire on Ice celebration” will be held Sunday, Dec. 10 starting at 3 p.m. During the fourth night of the Chanukah festival a “super-sized” ice sculpture menorah will be lit, according to Chabad of Greater Hartford. The event is free but registration is required at https://www.chabadhartford.com/. In a time of a rise in antisemitism, the event is intended to demonstrate pride, solidarity and unity, according to Rabbi Shaya Gopin, of Chabad.
Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.
