CHANUKAH WAS CELEBRATED by Rebbe Shlomo Litvin at Versailles City Hall on Dec. 17. Versailles Mayor Laura Dake hosted the event. (Photo by Scott White)
By Scott White
Managing Editor
Versailles Mayor Laura Dake invited Rebbe (Rabbi) Shlomo Litvin, director of Chabad of the Bluegrass and a member of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, to lead a celebration of Chanukah at the city council room on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
The event, intrinsically holy, was a poignant reminder that hate has no place here and is driven out by the light of God.
Chanukah is an important Jewish holiday that spans eight nights in December. In the second century BCE, what is now Israel was ruled by the Syrians, who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and renounce their own belief and observance of God. Against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated the Greeks, reclaimed the temple in Jerusalem, and rededicated it to the service of God.
When they tried to light the Temple’s menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they only found a one-day supply of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days, until new oil could be prepared. To commemorate the miracle, the leaders of Israel instituted the Festival of Chanukah.
The Versailles celebration led by Rebbe Litvin was not just in the backdrop of rising antisemitism around the country, including Kentucky, but just a little more than a week after 15 Jews were killed in a terrorist attack, claimed by ISIS, in Sydney, Australia. Rebbe Eli Schlanger, 41 and a father of five, was one of those murdered in Australia, and a friend of Rebbe Litvin.
Litvin began by noting that Central Kentucky has come far. That when ISIS says it is bringing antisemitism globally, they mean it. Lexington and Versailles have said we reject that, there is no room for antisemitism in our communities.
“Chanukah is the answer to antisemitism,” Litvin said. “It represents light, joy and purity. (For eight nights) we light a candle so the light grows, driving out the darkness. It is a light that represents we can worship God as we see fit, it is a light that leads us to more positivity; and we don’t lose the fire or light, it just adds more and more to spread God’s light. And as the light appears, the darkness dissipates.”
“What you told us about your friend in Australia is such a sad commentary on our world right now,” Dake said. “But you come here to Versailles, talk about light, and it says so much about what Chanukah is.”
After lighting the candle, Litvin closed, saying, “This was the third day; we need more light and there are five to go. This tells us there is always the need for more light and many more opportunities to share our light; there is more for all of us to do. That is our responsibility.”