About 50 Waltham residents gathered Dec. 18 in the City Council chambers for the city’s annual menorah lighting. Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy welcomed attendees and turned the proceedings over to Rabbi Benjamin Chaidell of Temple Beth Israel.
Chaidell called for a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the recent mass shootings at Brown University and Bondi Beach in Australia, where Jews had gathered for a Hanukkah celebration. “The terrorists want us to be afraid,” he said. “The best way to respond is to show up and not be afraid to be who you are.”
He led children in a question-and-answer session about Hanukkah, which commemorates the second-century B.C.E. victory of the Maccabees over a Syrian Greek ruler who sought to ban Jewish religious practice. After their victory the Jews rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem but found only enough purified oil to keep the menorah burning for one night. The oil miraculously lasted eight days, long enough for more oil to be prepared.
“We’re thankful Waltham is a welcoming community,” Chaidell said. He helped the children light candles on three menorahs and led the group in singing Hanukkah songs. Children also played with dreidels, recalling a time when Jews used the game to disguise secret study sessions of religious texts, which had been outlawed by the Syrian Greek empire.
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