Connecticut communities are marking Hanukkah, the celebration of lights for the Jewish community. This year's holiday comes in the wake of the mass shooting at a public menorah lighting in Australia that left 15 people dead, and dozens injured.
In Southbury, Connecticut, Rabbi Eric Polokoff with B’nai Israel said the idea of the holiday is to amplify the miracle of Hanukkah, and that the Jewish community will continue to carry on, as they have through centuries of hardship.
“All that has been happening in the world only makes the sense of kindling hope — of being in community, of being there for others, and of having pride in who we are — it’s just deepened all of that resolve and commitment,” Polokoff said.
B’nai Israel is holding menorah lightings through Sunday, open to all who wish to attend.
On Wednesday, people gathered at Young Israel of West Hartford for the fourth night of Hanukkah. They sang a prayer as they lit the candles, and continued with "Ma'oz Tzur" a traditional song for the holiday, before continuing with the festivities.
The menorah lighting is a sign the local Jewish community will not hide away from their faith in the face of mass shootings, Rabbi Tuvia Brander said at the event.
"Especially over the last couple of years, and especially over the terrible events we saw in Sydney and really around the world of late, coming together to be proud Jews and supporters of the Jewish community is something that I think is so important," Brander added.
Joseph Eisenbach, the rabbi at Chabad Lubavitch Northwest Connecticut, recalled how an area resident called him early Sunday morning and said, “‘I can't remember the last time I lit a menorah, but something just happened in Sydney, and I want to get a menorah.'”
Eisenbach said that he had not yet heard the news about the attack.
The man came over and they prayed together. As they wrapped tefillin, the leather boxes that contain Hebrew parchment scrolls, Eisenbach saw the man crying and told him, “this is who we are, we're all one people. And people are not hiding their faith.”
The faith leaders all noted that their congregations have been growing in recent years.
An accused gunman in Sydney’s Bondi Beach massacre was charged Wednesday with 59 offenses including 15 charges of murder, as hundreds of mourners gathered in Sydney to begin funerals for the victims.
Two shooters slaughtered 15 people on Sunday in an antisemitic mass shooting targeting Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, and more than 20 other people are still being treated in hospitals. All of those killed by the gunmen who have been identified so far were Jewish.
The victims of the attack ranged in age from a 10-year-old girl to an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.
Eisenbach said many have sought counsel since then. He said part of the response to the tragedy is embracing the miracle of Hanukkah with the community.
“We are here to move forward, to continue spreading light, and realize that, sadly, this is the cycle of life,” Eisenbach said. “But empty drums make a lot of noise.”
Menorah lightings are being held through Sunday in Litchfield county. Learn more at lightupnw.org.
Connecticut Public's Mark Mirko, Matt Dwyer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
