It’s beginning to look a lot like Chanukah
IT may have been a month early, but the festival of lights made its way into New South Wales Parliament House on Tuesday night as over 200 people, including members of parliament, councillors and community leaders, came together for the annual lighting of the chanukiah.
IT may have been a month early, but the festival of lights made its way into New South Wales Parliament House on Tuesday night as over 200 people, including members of parliament, councillors and community leaders, came together for the annual lighting of the chanukiah.
The warmth of the gathering defied the cold and rain outside as Yeshiva Centre spiritual leader Rabbi Pinchus Feldman lit the candelabra that he and the college generously donated to Parliament House earlier this year.
Premier Barry O’Farrell joked about his pronunciation of Chanukah and being tempted by doughnuts and latkes before reflecting more seriously on the meaning of the festival.
“When it comes to dauntless spirit and might in the face of overwhelming odds, Chanukah is of course one of the most outstanding and inspiring sagas that you could ever think about,” he said.
“There is light in the world, and regrettably the Jewish people understand there is also darkness in the world.
“So today, the menorah is recognised as the symbol of the Jewish people’s love for liberty, something which Australia advocates strongly in our belief of freedom and our respect for all religions, all races and all cultures.”
Opposition Leader John Robertson said the occasion was about “hope, faith and strength of character”.
“And this [Jewish] community is a community that has all those great characteristics, and a community that feeds every single one of those characteristics into our great state every single day and for that, we should all be thankful,” he said.
Legislative Assembly speaker Shelley Hancock spoke of the tradition of lighting an additional candle for each night of the festival.
“What it is saying is we shouldn’t be complacent about spreading our light and the word of peace and goodwill amongst men, that we should continue to build in what we’ve done yesterday and today, and continue to do those good works tomorrow,” she said.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president Yair Miller said that among the many universal messages of Chanukah was the reminder that we cannot be complacent about our democratic freedoms and the struggles that many of our predecessors have been through.
“It’s therefore very fitting to celebrate Chanukah in Parliament House which stands as a symbol of freedom and democratic values,” he said.
Rabbi Feldman said he felt blessed to live in a country and state where the respect for shared spiritual values was held in esteem by all sides of the political spectrum.
GARETH NARUNSKY
Rabbi Pinchus Feldman lighting the chanukiah at Parliament House this week.
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