BOISE, Idaho — As Jewish communities prepare for Hanukkah in a few days, Rabbis like Boise’s Dan Fink note the significance of the festival of light in the face of rising antisemitism.
“Antisemitism has often been described as the world's oldest hatred and I would love to live in a world where we could look back and say, 'Oh, that was ancient history.' And in a lot of ways, there were times when I was growing up and over my adult life when I thought we were really seriously moving in that direction; and one of the things that's been hard in the last few years as we've seen this increase in anti-Semitism, a rise, a large rise in anti-Semitic incidents, it's discouraging because really, again, for most of my life, things seem to be moving in the other direction,” Fink said.
A sign of the serious rise in antisemitism — the fact that Synagogues throughout the country need men like Roy Ledesma. He runs the security operation and is the executive director for Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise. The synagogue has faced veiled and direct threats in recent months, but Roy’s military and security background have been a major help.
“Train like you fight. You fight like you train,” Ledesma said. “A lot of my colleagues around the country, when they find out my background, they ask, 'hey, can I have your training plan? Can I have, you know, what did you do?' And so I, I share because I, you know, I don't want to play. I have a secret.”
Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz runs the Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho, he is set to help host the state Hanukkah celebration at the capitol next week.
“The history of the Jews has kind of taught us that anti-Semitism is not caused by Jews, but we do have a responsibility and an opportunity to fight back,” Lifshitz said. “We are tremendously honored and touched that the leadership of our communities will be there. Governor Brad Little is going to participate. The mayor is going to participate. We're going to have all types of dignitaries and a cross-section of the community that comes together. And to us, there's no greater way to say that we are better than this and we are greater than this than having all of us come together.”
In fact, Rabbi Lifshitz explains that the celebration of Hanukkah is a perfect time to address rising antisemitism as a community, Jewish or not.
“Hanukkah is actually a celebration of religious freedom. It's perhaps the first recorded event where a group that was being marginalized because of their religious beliefs fought back. And the way they did that, of course, was by defending themselves," Lifshitz said. "But more importantly, the way we celebrate Hanukkah is remarkable, if you think about it. Instead of going out there and using all this warfare symbolism, we just shine a light. We can do a thing. And that light is done at night in the darkness. And it teaches us a powerful lesson that if we want to improve this world, it's by increasing light.”
Rabbi Fink shares his takeaway from the Hanukkah story.
“In the midst of rising anti-Semitism in this country. The message I want to take is that we can't let the anti-Semites win. You know, if we are afraid to be Jewish, if we cower, if we seek to hide who we are, we give them a kind of victory," Fink said. "When we live with integrity, when we celebrate, when we create light in a time of darkness, we make the world better for ourselves. And we make the world better for the world at large.”
Rabbi Lifshits said a theme of Hanukkah is the light that can do so much.
“A little light dispels a lot of darkness. They go into a room and it's very dark. You don't need a megawatt light bulb in order to change the dynamics at room. You just need a small candle," Lifshitz said. "In fact, that small candle, you put it outside in broad daylight. It seems insignificant, but you put it in darkness. It suddenly illuminates. And so the message of Hanukkah really is that each and every one of us, we should never underestimate the power of goodness that we contain within us. That little reservoir of light, of soulfulness, of beauty that we can share with the world. Just light one candle. That's really the message of Hanukkah. And by lighting one candle, there is a disproportionate amount of darkness that will be dispelled because of that light.”
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