This evening (Monday), the 5th night of Chanukah, the candle-lighting ceremony took place in the presence of: Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, the Rishon Lezion and rabbi of Jerusalem; Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites; Health Minister Yuli Edelstein; Mr. Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation; Rabbi Eliezer Rauchberger, deputy mayor of Jerusalem; Mr. Faras Atilla, incoming head of the Civil Adminstration; Eran Kurtzer, vice-commander paratroopers brigade; Eli Cohen, chairperson of the 55th Brigade Association; Yosef Hagouel, a veteran soldier from the unit that liberated Jerusalem; and the Ronen Family, the family of Yoram Ronen Shovek and a delegation from the UAE and Bahrain.
Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar said:
“This candle-lighting unites the entire Jewish nation. Look carefully at the flames. Despite its various hues and colors – it is one flame that rises and illuminates and ignites. The Jewish nation is made of tribes and different communities and this is our glory. We cannot be separated even by the width of a hair. We can disagree with each other and think different thoughts and even take different and various actions, but remain brothers. Brothers that have never been separated and will never separate.”
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz said:
“Tonight we are particularly excited to be hosting you here – representatives of the Israeli health system. Our rabbis taught us that there are many forms of bravery. The bravery of the military Maccabees, the bravery of those who preserved the Torah in secret, the bravery of the mothers and the daughters… We have been privileged to see your bravery with our own eyes. The bravery in the Emergency Room and the other wards. The bravery of long shifts and endless concern. You, in the frontlines of this battle, are teaching us every day about bravery. About moral strength. In the name of the entire Jewish nation, I want to thank you and bless you and send you strength. A bit of light can banish great darkness. And your light – the light of being on a mission, the light of the love of Israel, the light of devotion – illuminates us all. Who would have believed that peace would come to our house in such a magnificent way? It is a miracle of Chanukah to see the delegation from the UAE and Bahrain here with us participating in the Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony.”
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said:
“I was not given the honor of lighting the 5th candle of Chanukah. Standing with me at that moment were tens of thousands of people who do not usually get photographed, and during this past year, they did not have one free moment. I am referring to the doctors, nurses, aides, and all those who fight the coronavirus day and night. Like ‘in those days at this time’, we did not depend only on miracles. Many worked days and nights to bring this miracle sooner. From here, I want to thank them in your name as well. They believed that the Jewish nation could be saved from this plague and they succeeded, with G-d’s help. We hope that from these Chanukah lights, one big light will emanate to the entire Jewish people. We send our blessings from here to all those who are ill with the coronavirus, to my friend David ben Margalit – MK David Bitan, may he quickly return to health and to the Jewish nation.”
Rabbi Eliezer Rauchberger, deputy mayor of Jerusalem, said:
“They planned to uproot the Torah from the Jewish nation so the opposite is devotion to the Torah. Chanukah and lighting Chanukah candles are the continuation of tradition. The Jewish nation cannot exist in the Land of Israel or in the world or in this city without the continuation of tradition. We, in the Jerusalem municipality, do all we can to spread the light. ‘These candles that we light for the miracles and the wonders’ that Jerusalem will be a light and a symbol for the entire Jewish people.”
Eran Kurtzer said:
“In the name of the 55th Brigade, the liberators of Jerusalem, paratroopers and IDF soldiers – Happy Chanukah to all, blessings and thanks for this respectable event.”
Avshalom Chaviv (named for Avshalom Chaviv, an Etzel fighter who was hung in the Acre prison) said:
“The 55th Brigade was founded toward the end of 1966. Its first commander was Motte Gur and he also commanded the brigade during the Six Day War in the battles to liberate the Old City of Jerusalem. We gathered here this evening despite the coronavirus, soldiers and commanders of the 55th Brigade, liberators of Jerusalem, crossers of the canal, and climbers of the __________, to light the candles for the 5th night of Chanukah at the Western Wall, near the site where the national flag was raised at the end of the battles of 1967.”
