Dear Friends, 

“The whole world is waiting to sing a song of Shabbat” is an English refrain I learned years ago to complement the Hebrew “Mizmor Shir L’Yom HaShabbat” opening of the 92nd Psalm.

When I have sung it with children over the years who are old enough to be familiar with the details of the globe, I have invited them to imagine the whole world, starting with the International Date Line, singing a song of Shabbat, a song of peace, time zone by time zone. So eventually, just for the very last hour of Shabbat just west of the date line, the whole world—all at once—is singing a song of Shabbat, So it begins: Auckland is waiting to sing a song of Shabbat, and Sydney is waiting to sing a song of Shabbat.  

Like many of you, I went to bed last night with the knowledge that the shooter at Brown University had yet to be apprehended and woke up this morning to the horror that as some one thousand of our Australian friends began to welcome Chanukah at Bondi Beach, over ten of them were murdered by a shooter and at least a dozen more have been injured. What a horror and what a horror as the whole world began to welcome the festival of lights.  

Lighting our chanukiyot proudly tonight is not just an act of celebration, but sadly in some quarters, is still a bold act of defiance as Anti-Jewish hatred is still very much alive in our world. The whole world is waiting for light. Even those who desire to cause us harm may unwittingly be waiting for light.

May these deaths not be in vain. May the people injured have a swift and complete refuah shleimah. From Brown to Bondi and back again, may this Chanukah drive away darkness and animate the hearts of all humanity with great light.

Warmly,

Jason Gary Klein 
Senior Rabbi