By the Grace of G-d
First day of Chanukah, 5786 – December 15, 2025
Dear Friends,
As I was preparing to leave yesterday to the Chanukah party here in Bangkok, the reports of the horrible attack in Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia starting coming in.
I spent my early childhood living near Bondi Beach. The names of those murdered were familiar to me.
Dread seized me as I realized that I was about to go on stage to lead Chanukah festivities in a public setting.
The world seemed so dark and scary at that moment. The combination of my very personal childhood connection to the scene of the murderous attack combined with the public nature of our Chanukah event had me feeling fear and not feeling very hopeful.
A few short minutes later I realized that I had written a speech just a few hours earlier that addressed that very question.
Have you ever felt you were in a situation where all hope was lost?
What do you do?
My equilibrium returned, I knew exactly what needed to be done.
I had mapped it out in my prepared speech.
Chanukah must go on with more power and intensity than ever before.
I checked with our security team, they said we had the go ahead to proceed with the party. Security would be increased and we had the green light to continue with our plans.
I delivered the following speech in answer to the question that had, in the few hours since I wrote it, become very personal to me.
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Have you ever felt you were in a situation where all hope was lost?
In Israel more than two thousand one hundred years ago, as the Syrian Greek empire invaded Israel many of the Jews thought there was simply no hope.
The bad guys numbered more than them.
The army of the forces of evil had more powerful weapons.
The enemy were attacking us and trying to finish us off as the Jewish nation. They were bent on getting rid of all of the Jewish Torah values of morality and holiness.
The easy thing to do would be to give up and give in.
To lose our Jewish identity and assimilate into the Greek hedonistic culture.
The future of Am Yisrael, the independent Jewish People with its Torah based identity was at stake.
If the Greeks would have been victorious, we would not be here today G-d forbid.
When all seemed dark and it looked like there was no hope… a flash of light lit up the darkness.
A group of brave, committed and motivated Jews decided to fight the forces of evil and bring back the holiness and light.
Their group was named the Macabees as that spells out
Mi Kamocha Baeilim Hashem – HASHEM IS OUR STRENGTH and therefore we will WIN.
Although they were smaller in number and weaker in sheer military strength, The Maccabees won a stunning MIRACULOUS military victory
They knew precisely what they were ready to fight for,
TO DRIVE AWAY THE DARKNESS.
TO DO THAT THEY NEEDED TO LIGHT UP!
THE MENORAH.
Immediately they went to the Temple in Jerusalem to rededicate it and light the menorah which was done daily in the Bet Hamikdash.
There was one major problem, the enemy had made all the stock of oil in the temple IMPURE. Unusable in the HOLY Menorah.
Making new oil would take EIGHT DAYS.
A temple without the light of the menorah is unthinkable. The Menorah lights up the world!
What could be done?
Again, the Jewish people didn’t give up.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
They looked and searched and FOUND one jar of pure uncontaminated oil signed by the holiest person possible the Kohen Gadol – High Priest.
Great, said they, we can light the menorah… but next problem, it was only enough for one day.
They did not hesitate, they forged ahead and did what they could, they lit the menorah thinking it would only last for one day.
G-d made a miracle. The oil that was enough for one day lasted for EIGHT FULL DAYS till new oil could be found,
(In today’s equivalent, a smart phone with 1 day of battery life lasts for eight full days. Impossible. That is what a miracle is, when Hashem makes the impossible happen).
Dear Friends,
Let me ask you again, as we look at the struggles in Israel as we look at rising anti-semitism around the world, what does the story of Chanukah teach us?
Three things:
DON’T GIVE UP. Even when you are outnumbered, even when the bad guys who act immorally and cruelly seem to be winning, even when the darkness seems to be overpowering,
GET UP AND DO SOMETHING
FIGHT the DARKNESS. To our heroes in uniform, soldiers, police and those who literally put their lives on the line for G-d and His people, may you be blessed, protected
Hashem Yishmor Tzeitcha Uvoeacha meatah vead olam.
To all of us – universally, man, woman, old and young this is a calling of the highest degree.
ADD LIGHT TO THE WORLD,
Find a mitzvah that you can do.
Find someone else that you can help.
Even if it’s only one small action,
Chanukah teaches us that while your one action can only fix a small part of the issue, you do your bit and Hashem will do his.
The oil that is enough for one day can miraculously last for eight.
Look at the incredible turnaround:
The enemy darkened one Menorah in the Holy Temple thousands of years ago,
Today we have not just one menorah but millions of Menorahs being lit during Chanuka and adding light around the world.
When you listen to the candles of Chanuka you hear a loud and focused call to action:
That pure jar of oil is inside of us.
Recognize that each of us, you, I, him and her, has an invincible untouchable pure light inside of you.
It is waiting for you to light it up.
Think about the powerful glow of the Menorah against the backdrop of pitch-black darkness. In your mind, watch the light chase away the darkness and recognize that you have that power, through your good deeds, YOUR light will expel the darkness around you and grow with ever increasing light.
Chanukah reminds us not to give up but to do our part in kindling a light and watching it perform miracles in making the world a more moral place, and kinder place and a more peaceful place.
This is a timeless message as the forces of darkness are ever present:
The Menorah reminds us that Good is victorious over evil holiness over impurity freedom over oppression even when the situation looks impossible.
As the Maccabees back in those days declared their allegiance and recognition of Hashem against all odds.
As the Jews living under the Spanish inquisition lit menorahs in the underground cellars hiding from their enemies and yet defiantly declaring their commitment to Judaism,
As the Jews in concentration camps lit menorahs hiding from the evil eyes of the nazis, with their last ounce of strength, rising and towering way above their captors.
And as our brothers and sisters held hostages in the horrendous Gazan tunnels lit menorahs overcoming their despair and declaring their belief in G-d
We too, as free people, must commit to Hashem.
Tragically, our enemy is not only from invading armies, or despotic tyrannical governments, but from individual haters and antisemites whose voices and actions must be stamped out.
And it is also from internal pressures. Our inability to stand tall in the face of peer pressure and cynicism in the societies around us that makes us embarrassed and self-conscious of our Judaism.
We need to be like the Maccabees and stand tall, proud and kindle our menorahs,
Let us close our eyes and proclaim together
SHEMA YISRAEL….
And with our eyes closed, access the depth of your soul, that deepest spark of connection to Hashem, that pure oil and remember that there is nothing more dear to me than G-d and there is nothing more dear to G-d than each and every one of us.
Commit to at least one act of light, one mitvah as we cry out in unison:
SHEMA YISRAEL HASHEM ELOKENU…
Listen Yisrael, (Jew) Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.
We are now lighting the collective menorah of our community.
And then we each have a mission to go to our personal home and each of us will light our personal Menorah.
May the many millions of gentle flames of light set to be kindled this Chanukah illuminate the world’s remaining patches of darkness. May these lights bring with it the miracle of true peace, lasting peace, and the complete redemption, with the coming of Moshiach. Amen.
Rabbi Yosef C. Kantor
Founder and Executive Director, Chabad of Thailand
PS. You can watch a recording from the Chanukah party over here.
PPS. If you would like a menorah and candles, please respond to this email and we will be happy to help arrange for you to get.