Rabbi Lazar: Forces of Darkness Appeared on the Festival of Light — and The World Must Stop Them

The Chief Rabbi of Russia, HaGaon Rabbi Berel Lazar, shlita, issued a strengthening letter to Jewish communities throughout Russia, combining words of encouragement for the festival of Chanukah with a sharp condemnation of the horrific terrorist attack in Sydney, during which innocent Jews were murdered at a holiday event organized by Chabad in Sydney.

Rabbi Lazar opened his remarks with a profound message about the meaning of Chanukah, the Festival of Light and miracles, emphasizing that the essence of the holiday is the ability to add light precisely in times of difficulty and darkness. “When things are hard, one must not give up; one must rely on the Holy One, blessed be He — and in this lies success,” he wrote, adding that the central message of the holiday is constant progress: “Each evening we add one more candle to the menorah — this is a directive for each of us to do more every day than we did yesterday.”

The Chief Rabbi stressed that Divine light is revealed specifically when a person does their part: “The miracle-working power God  is revealed when you yourself do everything within your ability,” and he cited the words of the Sages: “Even one small candle dispels the greatest darkness.”

He then addressed the severe attack in Sydney, drawing a connection between the essence of the holiday and the murderous assault: “The community in that city gathered to celebrate Chanukah — the Festival of Light — and in the midst of it terrorists appeared and began shooting and killing innocent civilians,” he wrote with pain.

According to him, this is not merely a local crime, but a clear expression of a global struggle: “The goal of the terrorists is the complete opposite of the goal of the holiday. They are forces of darkness, the embodiment of absolute evil. The fact that the attack occurred in Australia is shocking, but not surprising, in light of the sharp rise in manifestations of terror and antisemitism in recent years.”

In his remarks, he pointed a clear accusatory finger at international actors who enable terror to flourish: “It can and must be said that responsibility for the attack lies, alongside the perpetrators themselves, also with all those who finance them, who supply them with weapons, and who express support for them.”

In conclusion, he called on the international community to act decisively: “We call to finally put a stop to the criminal ‘international terrorist’ network,” and warned that any discourse of understanding or legitimizing terror is nothing less than “direct encouragement of mass murder.”

He concluded his words with a message of hope and determination: “We will add light in order to defeat the darkness,” together with a prayer for the recovery of the wounded and for the elevation of the souls of the murdered, and a call to continue spreading light and faith even in days of pain.

In the photo: Lighting the first Chanukah candle at the Central Synagogue of Marina Roscha in central Moscow.