Our People, Our Power! Shabbat Shalom, Moadim L’simcha!

Despite the rising tidal wave of antisemitism around the world, it was so heartwarming to open our doors and welcome so many of every age and stage who all joined us here at Central for the first days of Pesach.

Thank you to all for the heartwarming feedback about our Second Night Seder, which was successful and soulful in equal measure, celebrated with so many members of our Central Family.

The atmosphere was truly inspiring, yet undeniably, this commenced as a Pesach like no other as it has literally been decades since we have faced such alarming adversity.

So much weighs heavily as we endeavour to celebrate our Festival of Freedom, while our beating heart, Israel, is waging a multi-front war. And all this while 133 precious hostages are still missing and were glaringly absent from their family Seder tables.

The moment we reconnected with technology post-Yom Tov, we were met with the unnerving news that anti-Israel demonstrations were swelling at universities across America and now Australia. Jewish students have been hiding their identities not feeling safe, advised to study online rather than attend campus.

Novelist Dara Horn recently wrote a book emotively entitled People Love Dead Jews. The inspiration for this title came from an incident at The Anne Frank House, in Amsterdam.

A few years ago at this museum, which is visited by approximately one million people annually, and was once the residence where young Anne Frank hid and wrote her famous diary, a young employee was instructed to wear his kippah under a baseball cap.

The museum’s management claimed that the kippah would, “interfere with the museum’s independent position.” The employee did not want to hide. After half a year of deliberations, the museum finally allowed him to wear his kippah publicly.

 Horn, with her sharp wit, commented on the situational irony, noting that six months “seems like a rather long time for The Anne Frank House to ponder whether it was a good idea to force a Jew into hiding.”

 The world seems more at ease with the memory of Jewish suffering, rather than with the vibrancy of Jewish life. The presence of a living Jew in the here and now who refuses to hide his identity causes discomfort. It is easier to express sympathy for Anne Frank, who was murdered aged 16 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp early 1945, than solidarity with a modern Jew.

 In the face of rising antisemitism on a global scale, we are reminded that the most powerful stance we can take is one of pride in our identity. The best way to fight is not by demurely dimming our light but by amplifying it. Yes, by lighting the Shabbat candles, affixing the mezuzah, observing Passover, and wearing a kippah on university campus.

 My friend Berel Goldman is the Chabad Rabbi at the University of Florida, where his team just hosted a successful Seder for over 1200 students, despite the chaos and antisemitism swirling all around them.

 They proudly declared that we have been going strong for 3,336 years and are not planning to stop now! I couldn’t have said that better!

 Each year, as we open our doors on Seder night, the gates of heaven swing wide open too. That moment and experience presents a unique chance to pray for the safety and peace of Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people.

 When we open our doors, each one of us is making a powerful declaration: Anne Frank’s attic will no longer represent or serve as a refuge for our Judaism. Hidden. Together, we embrace the truth that the best way to fight antisemitism is not by dimming our light but by shining brighter than ever before.

 Today marks the birthday of Rabbi Levik, the father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and my namesake. As the chief Rabbi in Ukraine, he endured the tragic plight of exile under the Soviet regime, unjustly imprisoned for his unwavering commitment to courageously stand up for Judaism. We must continue to do our part and stand firmly and proudly to honour his efforts and the efforts of so many others that came before him and after him.

 Yesterday we commemorated Anzac Day, honouring all those who served in wars, conflicts and peace-keeping operations, including our brave Jewish heroes, all sacrificing to afford us the freedoms we enjoy here in Australia today.

 The final two days of Yom Tov commence this Sunday evening. On Tuesday morning at approximately 10.15am we will hold the emotional Yizkor service – please know there is a seat for all who want to pray, to reflect, to remember.

In shule, we will also read from the Prophet Isaiah on the theme of the Messianic Age. In that spirit, here at Central we will end Yom Tov on a spiritual high with a generous ‘Moshiach’s Seudah’ at 4:45pm, during which we will explore the Final Redemption.

May we indeed merit this and more very soon.

We will mark the culmination of Pesach with a special celebration at the Shule called “Mimouna.”  Ashkenazim and Sephardim will come together reflecting the truly gregarious and generous Jewish family that we are. Yes, Am Echad Ve Lev Echad – One Nation, One Heart.
Shabbat Shalom and Moadim L’Simcha,

Rabbi Levi and Chanie Wolff