There is not a Jew in the world, nor any decent human being, who was not shaken by the recent events in Sydney, Australia. The pain is real and the grief is deep. Yet this tragedy did not cause us, nor the thousands of Chabad celebrations across the world, to retreat or cancel. On the contrary, we responded as Jews always have, with faith, strength, and resolve.
At the same time, we know something about human nature. With time, the sharpness of the pain will fade. Headlines change. Life moves forward.
But moments like this are meant to change us.
They call on us not only to feel, but to act. Not only to mourn, but to strengthen everything our enemies set out to destroy. Our Jewish identity. Our pride. Our commitment. In ways that endure long after the news cycle moves on from Sydney. The response cannot be fleeting emotion alone. It must be lasting commitment.
We learn this lesson from the Biblical Joseph. During the seven years of abundance, he instructed the people of Egypt to store grain for the years of famine that would follow. Our sages explain that Joseph preserved the grain together with some of the very soil in which it grew, so that it would retain its freshness and vitality for years to come.
So too with us. The shock and pain we feel now must be translated into action. The loss of these holy and innocent victims must not be in vain. Let it become an impetus for each of us to identify more deeply and more tangibly as Jews. To explore more. To learn more. To do more. Starting with observing the remaining days of Chanukah by lighting your Menorah at home, until Sunday evening with all eight candles.
That is how we honor their memory. That is how we ensure that the unprecedented light of Chanukah 2025 does not dim, even after the Menorahs are put away for the year ahead. When they say: Globalize the intifada, we say: Globalize the light of Chanukah!
May G-d comfort the bereaved, heal the injured, and bring consolation to a hurting community, with the permanent eradication of evil and the swift arrival of our ultimate redemption, Amen.