This past week has been one of the most difficult weeks for the Jewish people in recent memory, a week that seemed to compress centuries of Jewish pain, resilience, and memory into a single unbearable moment.
Last Shabbos, my wife and I were privileged to be in the Boca Raton community, spending a beautiful Shabbos in Boca West with the extraordinary Rabbi Rael and Rebbetzin Aliza Blumenthal. Together, we shared Torah, we felt the warmth of a strong Jewish community, and we experienced the power of connection that only Shabbos can bring. It was uplifting, grounding, and deeply meaningful.
Shortly after Shabbos ended, we flew back to New Jersey. We arrived late, went to sleep, and woke up to the horrific news that Jews around the world woke up to together. The massacre at Bondi Beach in Australia shook the Jewish world from corner to corner. Another brutal antisemitic slaughter. Another reminder that Jews are still being murdered simply for being Jews.
One of the reasons this attack was so deeply traumatic was that the images from Bondi Beach were so hauntingly reminiscent of October 7th. October 7th itself evoked the darkest chapters of Jewish history, echoing the Holocaust and the countless massacres that Jews have endured over the last two thousand years in country after country, generation after generation.
I want to speak directly to my Lubavitch Chabad colleagues, people with whom I share deep respect, admiration, and friendship, and say that your Aish brothers and sisters stand with you. Aish and Chabad are two of the rare Jewish organizations that truly span the globe. We are present everywhere, often quietly, often without fanfare, simply showing up for Jews wherever they are. So many times, these two movements exist as constant partners for Jews who need guidance, connection, or support, whether online or while traveling in unfamiliar places.
For my Chabad brothers and sisters, who are heroes of the Jewish people, this attack was especially devastating. A beautiful event, Hanukkah by the Sea, was targeted. Among those murdered was another Chabad rabbi. This loss joins a painful list that includes Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the Chabad couple murdered in Mumbai in 2008, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, abducted and killed in the UAE in November 2024, and now yet another emissary, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, murdered in Australia. These Jews were killed for one reason alone. They were Jews. The attackers were not interested in anyone else on that beach. They targeted Jews who were gathering to celebrate Hanukkah.
The irony is overwhelming. Hanukkah is the holiday that commemorates Jews fighting back, spiritually and physically. It is a holiday of miracles, not only the miracle of the oil that should have burned for one day and lasted eight, but also the miracle of a military victory that defied every law of nature. We had no business winning that war, and yet we did.
I am reminded of something my personal rabbi once taught. Rabbi Tzvi Sobolovsky asked us to imagine the heroism of that lone Kohen who hid the flask of oil. At that moment, everything seemed lost. The Temple was defiled. Jewish sovereignty appeared impossible. Still, that Kohen hid the oil, believing that one day someone would return, find it, and light it. That act of faith made the miracle possible.
Someone else recently pointed out another kind of heroism. The heroism of the Maccabees searching through the rubble of the Temple, refusing to give up, insisting that the oil had to be there. That determination reflects a core Jewish truth. Jews never abandon hope. We search. We persist. We believe.
At Aish, we always mark Hanukkah with joy and meaning. This week, we held a beautiful celebration at our yeshiva in Jerusalem that included a concert and a Torah class. The class was delivered by Rabbi Uri Pilochowski of Nefesh B’Nefesh, an incredible organization that helps Jews make Aliyah and that was itself targeted by antisemitism at Park East Synagogue just weeks ago.
Rabbi Pilochowski gave one of the most powerful classes I have ever heard. I am attaching the video and urging every single one of you to watch it. If you listen to one class this Hanukkah, let it be this one. He explained what a miracle truly is. A miracle is something that defies explanation. He then walked through the past two and a half years since October 7th, describing in practical, statistical terms the miracles Israel has experienced in standing up to Hezbollah, Iran, and others. This was not rhetoric. This was reality. I was profoundly moved by his clarity and his faith.
As we mourned the souls murdered at Bondi Beach, I found myself once again speaking on news programs as a representative of our community. Many hosts spoke about the condolences pouring in from around the world and from the Australian government. I shared something I have said many times over the last two and a half years. There is nothing stronger in the world than the broken heart of a Jew.
Australia has become one of the most hostile antisemitic environments in the world. Public demonstrations openly chant “gas the Jews.” Political leaders refuse to condemn phrases like “globalize the intifada.” Jews understand exactly what happens when such language goes unchecked. Globalizing the intifada means exactly what we saw at Bondi Beach.
The world must learn the difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. A terrorist murders men, women, and children indiscriminately. That is what happened in Australia. That is what Jews have endured repeatedly throughout history.
I have spoken with many of you in New York who are deeply unsettled by the prospect of leadership that refuses to condemn calls for violence against Jews or even acknowledge Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. As an Israeli institution based in the Old City of Jerusalem, a place some still falsely label as occupied territory, we understand these dangers deeply.
From 1948 to 1967, Jews were forbidden from entering the Old City. A Jew standing where the Dan Family Aish World Center now stands would have been shot. Since Israel reunified Jerusalem in 1967, all faiths have had freedom of worship. Still, Israel is condemned. Still, Jews are blamed.
Israel exists to protect Jews. That truth feels more urgent than ever. Protection is a partnership between Israel, the IDF, Jewish communities worldwide, and the Almighty Himself.
Earlier this week, I went to the White House to represent all of you at the annual Hanukkah celebration. It was a powerful evening that highlighted America’s role in helping secure the release of hostages. One of the most meaningful aspects of the night was being there with so many representatives of Aish Ha’am from the World Zionist Congress. Seeing familiar faces together in that space was deeply moving, from social media leaders like Lizzy Savetsky, Shabbos Kestenbaum, and Ari Ackerman, to donors and partners including Jonathan and Irit Tratt, Stephen and Beatrice Rosedale, Phil and Lori Lieberman, and Aish Hasbara Fellowships Director Eli Alan Levine. The presence of so many people who are actively helping Aish to shape Jewish strength and influence in the world made the evening even more powerful.
The President called two families of hostages to the stage to speak spontaneously, unscripted, and the kinship and support in that room was palpable. One moment in particular moved me deeply. The President spoke about meeting families who wanted their children’s bodies returned, even if they were no longer alive. He was struck by the Jewish need for completeness, for burial, for togetherness even after death. That recognition of Jewish values from the most powerful office in the world was profound. The President said he had to change his approach to the ceasefire based on the love of these families for their family members, even after death.
Another unscripted moment featured a Holocaust survivor over one hundred years old, standing in the White House and expressing disbelief that after surviving such horror, she was witnessing such support for the Jewish people. The President had a beautiful, unscripted banter with this heroine. The presence of survivors, hostage families, and Jewish leaders together was deeply emotional.
This Shabbos is Shabbos Hanukkah, the first Shabbos since the Bondi Beach massacre. It is a Shabbos of miracles and song. We will recite Hallel even as our hearts ache. I do not believe there is a Jew in the world who could watch the funeral of the Lubavitch rabbi, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was brutally murdered, see his wife and five children mourning and remain without tears, and remain unchanged.
Our enemies must understand something clearly. Violence will not break us. Terror will not sever our connection to God or to each other. Hanukkah reminds us that miracles continue, even in moments of unimaginable pain.
As we enter this Shabbos, we must remember Ran Gvili. So many in the Aish family know that this past Sukkot, literally the night before the ceasefire was put into place, we stood together with the Gvili family on the roof of Aish. That night, Daniel and Bari Erber donated a beautiful Sefer Torah to the Gvili family’s community in Ran’s memory. We stood there overlooking the Temple Mount, holding that family close, knowing that the very next day, they were waiting for news of their son. Ran had been scheduled for surgery on October 7th, ran out of the hospital to defend others, was killed, and his body was taken by evil terrorists. Today, he is the last Jewish body still being held in Gaza. Our hearts are with the Gvili family. Our prayers and our davening are with them as we hope for one final Hanukkah miracle, that this hero will be returned to his people and to his family so he can be laid to rest among other Jewish heroes.
I am immensely proud of the role Aish continues to play during this dark chapter. Our online content reached millions this week. Aish’s Chief Communications Officer and Global Spokesperson, Jamie Geller, interviewed
one of our EFG@Aish alumni, Ben Marcus, about his heroism during the Brown campus shooting. Our graduates and supporters are everywhere, strengthening Jewish pride and faith.
The Aish community has never been more essential. Antisemitism is rising. Hatred is intensifying. The future can feel uncertain. The Jewish response has always been unity.
Division is exactly what our enemies want. Jew versus Jew. Such divisions must never be allowed to take hold. Nothing brings more pain to the Almighty than watching His children fight. Jewish survival has always depended on standing together.
May this Shabbos be filled with meaning, strength, and connection. May we bond deeply with the Almighty and with one another. May we fulfill our mission to be a light unto the nations and a family bound by love and responsibility.
Thank you for being part of the Aish family. May God bless you all with strength, comfort, and hope.
