“Darkness was upon the face of the deep. And God said: Let there be light.”
The tragic terrorist attack and massacre at Chabad Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, together with the mass shooting at Brown University that targeted a Jewish professor’s exam preparation session, and the murder of a MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts are beyond words.
Being part of the Chabad community means no one is distant from the pain. Everyone is either directly connected or one degree removed from the victims and survivors. One of my close friends called me in shock. He and his young daughter had been having lunch on Bondi Beach that day when the area was suddenly locked down, forcing them to hide as events unfolded around them.
In response, I created an art project to express what words could not.
Then I returned to this essay written years ago in the aftermath of another Hanukkah attack. I realized, with sadness and clarity, that its message remains painfully relevant today. The words still matter. But the list has grown.
I felt compelled to add testimony, not as politics or provocation, but as witness. A way of acknowledging how dramatically antisemitism and Jew-hatred have escalated across the world in recent years. In Jewish tradition, testimony matters. To name is to remember. To remember is to refuse erasure.
The Breaking Matzo community mourns each of these tragedies. We pray for the souls of those murdered, for the wounded, and for the families and communities left to carry these unbearable loss. May their memories be a blessing. Such acts of antisemitic violence are morally repugnant and their recurrence demands moral clarity, not silence.
In searching for grounding, I returned to the Torah, to the very first page.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep;
and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said: Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Light precedes law. Light precedes judgment. Light precedes human argument.
Creation does not begin by eliminating darkness, but by distinguishing it. God does not deny the existence of chaos; He insists on moral separation. This is the first act of order in the universe, not force nor dominance, but discernment.
We cannot fully shield ourselves from the darkness that emerges in our world. But each of us can and must choose every day to bring the light of Day One into the world. A light that is not reactive, not defensive, but intrinsically good.
During Hanukkah, the festival of rededication, the menorah takes on even deeper meaning. Its light does not erase darkness. It divides it. It insists on moral distinction. It declares that not everything is relative and not everything is permissible.
We must vigorously divide the light from the darkness.
To light a menorah is not to deny suffering. It is to refuse confusion. It is to say that terror and hatred do not get the final word and that even in moments of grief, clarity matters.
May we be inspired to cast radiant light in the midst of unspeakable darkness. Not because it is easy. Not because it guarantees safety. But because creation itself begins with that choice. and because light, once lit, still matters.
A Record of Tragedy
A chronology of antisemitic violence, intimidation, and moral rupture
This record is not comprehensive. It is not political. It is testimony.
October 27, 2018 — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
A gunman attacked Shabbat morning services at the Tree of Life synagogue, murdering 11 Jewish worshippers. This remains the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.
Late November–December 2019 — New York City, USA
A series of assaults against visibly Jewish individuals occurred in public spaces, particularly in Brooklyn, creating fear and insecurity during daily Jewish life in the weeks leading up to Hanukkah.
December 10, 2019 — Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Two attackers murdered three civilians inside a kosher supermarket and one responding police officer. The attack was treated as targeted antisemitic violence.
December 28, 2019 — Monsey, New York, USA
On the seventh night of Hanukkah, an assailant entered a Hanukkah celebration at the Home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg and stabbed multiple guests. Five people were wounded; one victim later died from injuries.
October 7, 2023 — Israel
Hamas carried out a coordinated terrorist assault against Israeli civilians, murdering, raping, and abducting men, women, children, and the elderly. This was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust and was followed by a global surge in antisemitic incidents.
October–December 2023 — New York City, USA
Multiple assaults against visibly Jewish individuals were reported in public streets and transit systems, contributing to heightened fear within Jewish communities.
November 5, 2023 — Thousand Oaks, California, USA
A Jewish man named Paul Kessler (69) died from head injuries sustained during a confrontation at opposing demonstrations related to the Israel–Hamas war. His death was ruled a homicide.
October 2023 — Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
A Jewish student at Harvard Business School was assaulted during protests on campus. Criminal charges were later filed in connection with the incident.
May 21, 2025 — Washington, D.C., USA
A Palestinian terrorist killed an American Jewish woman and her Christian fiancé in front of the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. in an antisemitic attack.
June 1, 2025 — Boulder, Colorado, USA
An incendiary attack targeted participants at a pro-Israel gathering. Multiple individuals were injured, including the death of a Holocaust survivor. Karen Diamond (82) later died from her injuries.
October 2025 — Manchester, England
An assault occurred during Yom Kippur services, resulting in fatalities and injuries. The attack traumatized the British Jewish community on Judaism’s holiest day.
November 2025 — Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
The residence of Governor Josh Shapiro was targeted in an arson attack during the Passover season. The incident was investigated amid concerns of antisemitic motivation.
December 2025 — Providence, Rhode Island, USA
A mass shooting occurred at Brown University during an exam preparation session associated with a Jewish professor. Two people were killed and several others wounded.
December 2025 — Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
A MIT professor was murdered in his home near the MIT and Harvard campuses, sending shockwaves through the academic and Jewish communities.
December 2025 — Los Angeles County, California, USA
Gunfire struck a Jewish family’s home during the Hanukkah season. No fatalities were reported, but the incident intensified fear within the local community.
December 14, 2025 — Sydney, Australia
A terrorist attack during a Chabad Hanukkah Celebration resulted in the murder of Jewish civilians, including a Holocaust survivor, and injuries to many others. The attack reverberated across Jewish communities worldwide during the Festival of Light.
Each entry marks a life interrupted, a family shattered, and a community forever changed. To record is to remember. To remember is to refuse erasure. May their memories be a blessing.
You can read more about the light of Hanukkah shining through the darkness here.
