On the Cusp of a New Year
As we stand on the threshold of 2025, we wonder: what will this new year bring? Will it be a year of peace or turmoil? Stability or chaos? The truth is, no one knows for sure. I’ve begun to wonder if there ever was such a thing as a “normal” year.
Many of us are reflecting on the rise of antisemitism, especially after last month’s horrific attacks on Jews in Amsterdam. Hearing that people were going on a “Jew hunt” in 2024 in a major metropolitan city is deeply unsettling. Like you, I feel the pull to dwell on this despair, to descend into the rabbit hole of fear and frustration over the growing antisemitism around us. But we must resist that urge.
Chanukah, which begins in just a few weeks, offers a powerful message about adding light to a dark world. It would be easy to focus solely on the darkness, allowing it to consume us. But doing so is like lighting the candles of the chanukiah and staring only into the shadows that surround them. Instead, we must embrace the light—the warmth, beauty, and resilience of Judaism itself.
Judaism provides us with a path to a meaningful life, a guide to wrestle with the challenges and uncertainties around us. Yes, we must confront antisemitism directly—it is not an overreaction to take this threat seriously. But if all our energy is consumed by pointing out the hate, we risk losing sight of the richness and beauty of who we are as a people.
When we light the candles of Chanukah and display the chanukiah in our windows, we send a strong, defi ant message to the world: we are proud of who we are, and we will not let darkness defi ne us. We defi ne our faith, our traditions, and our place in the world. We do not cower in the shadows; instead, we step boldly into the light of who we are and all that we can become.
This Chanukah, as the flames of the chanukiah grow brighter each night, may we all find warmth and strength in what it means to be Jewish today. Let us carry that light forward into the new year, bringing hope and resilience to ourselves, our communities, and the world.
