Categories: In Print / Halacha & Hashkafa

In light of the war in Israel and antisemtisim rising worldwide, which approach to public menorah lighting ... should communities embrace this year?

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December 13, 2023, 7 AM ET

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In light of the war in Israel and antisemtisim rising worldwide, which approach to public menorah lighting (pro ala Chabad or con ala certain Litvish schools of thought) should communities embrace this year?

It is very important for us to remain cognizant of the fact that we are but visitors in a foreign land. We neither own this land, nor are we really part of the nation amongst which we live. We are merely visitors, granted great privileges and benefits. We have to always be cognizant of the fact that we are in an exile and among foreigners in a foreign land. Yes, there is certainly a concept of being proud to be Jewish and in showing that pride, but it is not incumbent upon us to do that here, and there is certainly no issue for us to show the menorah to gentiles. If there is any danger whatsoever, then I would say it’s best not to put it outside, and depending on the neighborhood a person lives in, it probably would behoove them to be careful. For example, if a person lives in a neighborhood where there are a lot of pro-Palestinians protests, etc., and there is a certain likelihood that this would provoke an incident, then it would be wise for a person to put the menorah outside and not make an outward show. If he is in more of a secluded area where there is generally no need to be afraid, then it would be a benefit and proper to perform this mitzvah even outside. In either case it’s important to remember that persumai neis, the mitzvah of proclaiming the miracle, is strictly for Jews, and not for gentiles at all. – Rabbi Ben Zion Shafier is founder of The Shmuz and author of 10 Really Dumb Mistakes That Very Smart Couples Make (available at theshmuz.com).

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This is probably the most difficult question posed to me. Let me go beyond the usual scope of this column. Religion in general has been denigrated to such a point that the majority religion in this country, if not the Western world as a whole, Christianity, is looked upon with scorn by masses of the population – mostly the younger people, who have been indoctrinated by their professors and mainstream media to be good atheists and hedonists – "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow I die.” We recently saw the young “Palestinian " sympathizers, who sanction murder, rape and all sorts of well documented brutality and have the gall to deny what we have all seen, thuggishly disrupt the Christmas Tree Lightings in New York City at Rockefeller Center and at the Fox News Building. An appalling sight. The Chanukah menorah is such that it illuminates the darkest recesses of our world, wherever it is lit and then shines forth. In our modern time it was the sainted Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, zt”l, who championed the public lighting of the Chanukah menorah for exactly that reason – to bring illumination to what he perceived, even then, a few short years ago, as a very dark world. Let it shine forth; we do ours and the Ribbono Shel Olam will do His. – Rabbi Yaakov Klass is chairman of the Presidium of the Rabbinical Alliance of America; rav of Congregation K’hal Bnei Matisyahu in Flatbush, Brooklyn; and Torah Editor of The Jewish Press. He can be contacted at yklass@jewishpress.com and Rabbi@igud.us.

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Halachically, the poskim disagree as to whether the reason for lighting the menorah in shul applies to lighting the menorah in a public ceremony that is not in shul. For example, the Beit Yosef states that one reason for lighting in shul is to publicize the miracle in front of a large crowd. According to this reason, there would be a basis to have a public menorah lighting. However, the Ateret Zekeinim (Orach Chayim, 673) writes in the name of the Rosh that we should light a menorah in our shuls because each shul is a “mikdash m’at,” a miniature Temple, and the miracle of lights during the Chanuka story took place in our mikdash. According to this reason, there would be no basis to light the menorah other than in our homes or shuls. There are other reasons for lighting the menorah in a shul that do not apply to a public menorah lighting. If we adopt this halachic approach, then reciting a beracha during a public lighting ceremony would be forbidden as it would constitute a beracha l’vatala (in vain). However, in light of the war in Israel and antisemitism rising worldwide, we must make every effort to broadcast our Judaism proudly in the public square and to communicate to the world at large that we will not be intimidated into hiding our religion or religious practices. I don’t think that we should change our halachic stance and recite a beracha on a public menorah lighting ceremony if we generally believe that it is forbidden to do so, but communities should think of ways to publicly celebrate their Judaism on Chanuka and in general and to tell the world at large that we are not afraid, that we are proud Jews, and that Am Yisrael chai! – Rabbi Jonathan Muskat is the rabbi of the Young Israel of Oceanside, a rebbe at Shulamith High School, and a pastoral health care liaison at Mount Sinai South Nassau.