Hanukkah
Shadows over the festival of lights: Many fears and worries
Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal (l.) and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz light a light at the traditional central Hanukkah lighting at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. photo
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
The Federal Chancellor came to light the large Hanukkah lamp at the Brandenburg Gate for the first time this year. A sign of solidarity. Many Jews also want this in their everyday lives.
Lighting a light, coming together, setting an example, that’s what Yehuda Teichtal is all about now. “The message of Hanukkah is: light over darkness, love over hate,” says the rabbi of the Jewish community Chabad Berlin. Despite all the gloomy news of the past few weeks – at the ceremony to light the Hanukkah menorah at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Teichtal emphasized his optimism. “More Light, more joy, more Jewish consciousness, that is our answer,” he called out to the invited guests.
Among them for the first time was Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who at the end lit the first fire on the ten-meter-high candlestick on a lifting platform next to Teichtal. For Scholz it was a gesture of solidarity – and that’s exactly what the Chancellor demanded from everyone else in the country. “We do not accept it when Jewish fellow citizens have to be afraid to openly live their religion, their culture, their everyday life, when they exercise their fundamental right to be visible, a right that all people in our society have, without distinction,” said the SPD politician.
An enormous number of anti-Semitic incidents since the beginning of October
After Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, reporting centers in the Rias network registered almost 1,000 anti-Semitic incidents within just over four weeks. There were 282 such acts in Berlin alone. Jews report that they hide their symbols, the Star of David or the kippah. Jewish daycare groups no longer use the subway because the children there could speak Hebrew. Jews who still dare to board buses and trains hear conversations from their fellow human beings who fantasize about killing Jews or Israelis. Rias grasped all of this.
But the greatest shock was over so-called markings – the Star of David on houses where Jews live – and over a near-attack on a Berlin synagogue in October. “This attempted arson attack has led to an enormous shock to the sense of security in the Jewish and Israeli communities,” reports Rias. Former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer confessed to “Zeit Online” that he would not have believed what had happened in Germany since October 7th was possible. “I’m ashamed of our country.”
“Light that drives away darkness”
That sounds gloomy at the beginning of what is actually a joyful festival, which this year lasts until December 15th. The background of Hanukkah is very different from that of Christmas – it commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after an uprising against the Greeks in 164 BC and the “miracle of light” of a candlestick burning for eight days. Traditional dishes are not stollen and gingerbread, but donuts and potato pancakes fried in oil. But the symbols and message are similar: light in the dark season, celebration in the family, gifts.
“Hanukkah is one of my favorite festivals in the Jewish liturgy,” says Felix Klein, the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life and the Fight Against Anti-Semitism. “The light that drives away the darkness is celebrated.” This symbolizes the fear that needs to be scared away. Since October 7th, this fear has not completely left many members of the Jewish community. The danger is real and that will not change overnight, says Klein. “But what Jews always tell me is that fear is easier to bear when you know that you are not alone.”
A light in the window, standing up against hate
Many Jews in Germany want a sign of care, beyond the dispute over the Middle East conflict. The majority of non-Jews are not anti-Semitic, but many of them don’t care about Jews’ fears, Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews, told “Zeit.” “They think nothing. They say nothing. The hatred of us does not affect them. This silence is bitter.”
There is solidarity, said Rabbi Teichtal a few days before the Hanukkah ceremony. But it is not sufficient. “We would like more people to stand up. One person puts a light in the window, another gets involved in the neighborhood, there are many paths and many signs. Everyone can do this according to their ability. The main thing is that people stand up and show: We will not allow hate.”
An alliance led by Bundestag President Bärbel Bas is planning a large rally in Berlin on Sunday under the title “Never again is now – Germany stands up”. Chancellor Scholz also supported the call for the rally. At the ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate he said: “Showing compassion and solidarity with our Jewish neighbors and friends, work colleagues, that is particularly important these days. In this way, each and every one of us can give strength to the words ‘Never again’. “