Good Evening Friends & Happy Chanukah
Welcome to the Sudbury Chanukah Celebration!
The other day I was in the Post Office and I see a lady going to buy stamps for her Chanukah cards, and she says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Chanukah stamps?"
The clerk says, "What denomination?"
The woman says, "Oh my God. Has it come to this? Give me 6 Orthodox, 10 Conservative, 30 Reform, and 14 Unaffiliated"
Friends, Chanukah transcends all our external differences, Chanukah is a uniting Holiday, a time when all of us come together and remember our shared purpose and destiny. Chanukah is a time when we think back to our people’s past and miraculous story of survival, and when we give thanks to G-d for the miracles of Chanukah and the Miracles that are in our lives.
2300 years ago, the Assyrian Empire tried ever so hard to stamp out Judaism from the Jewish People, but as much as they tried to succeed, ultimately the unbreakable Jewish spirit, led by the Maccabee’s and with G-d’s help, succeeded in driving the oppressors out of the country and gaining religious freedom for the Jewish people.
When the Maccabee’s arrived in the desecrated Temple, they found just one jug of oil that was suitable for lighting the Temple Menorah. Normally the oil would have been enough for only one day but a miracle occurred and it lasted for 8 Days.
Since then, for over 2000 years, Jews around the world have been celebrating Chanukah and remembering the story of the survival of the Jewish people in the face of tyranny and oppression. Time and time again this story has repeated itself throughout our long history, and thank G-d we are here to tell the tale. Even in the midst of the holocaust, there are many stories of Jews who were on deaths doorstep, who risked their lives to be able to find a potato to hollow out and use as a Menorah and light a flame of freedom and hope in the midst of a sea of suffering.
Chanukah represents the eternal Jewish Spirit, it represents G-d’s help, its represents the light and spirit of freedom, and it represents the power of goodness and light in dispelling darkness.
As we celebrate Chanukah, it is important to remember and give thanks to the great country that we live in. Our countries strong values of respect, tolerance, and religious freedom have become a beacon to the world as to what a country can look like. Thank you to the USA, Thank you to the Town and Community of Sudbury, and thank you to everyone of you for coming out here tonight to join Chabad of Sudbury for this beautiful community celebration.
Before we move on to the actual lighting I would like to give a special thanks to this evenings Corporate Sponsors who have helped make this evening possible!
Thank You
Avi Finder of Ameriprise Financial Services
Sol Cohen & Jessica Cohen of Cohen & Sales, Attorneys at Law
Harold Salant of One Call Insurance Agency
Len Cohen of Static Solutions
& Alan Alford
I would also like to give our annual thanks to Dr. Brian & Nancy Schwartz & Family who sponsored this beautiful Menorah 6 years ago and have helped the Sudbury community have a beautiful Chanukah Event each year.
Thank you to the Town of Sudbury and Jim Kelly who have helped facilitate this event and thank you to everyone else who volunteered their time and energy with making this event, first and foremost being my wife Shayna, and everyone else who helped.
Please remember that the Chanukah Celebration is just one of our many events and our doors are always open to the community at our many events, adult education programs, children’s programs and Camp Gan Israel.
Now let's get going with the lighting of the Menorah!