Crowd unites during emotional menorah lighting

It was an emotional evening filled with powerful speeches during a menorah lighting on Dec. 16 at Mercerdale Park on Mercer Island.

Amid the rain and wind, Rabbi Nissan Kornfeld and his wife Mushka Kornfeld — founders and co-directors of Chabad Mercer Island — stepped front and center under a tent to unleash potent messages to the crowd on the third night of Hanukkah.

Two days after a pair of gunmen attacked the Jewish community on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, by killing 15 people during a menorah lighting, the local chabad held its “Fire & Ice” event with a group of Mercer Island Police Department officers present.

Mushka first thanked the attendees for gathering to witness the lighting of the six-foot ice menorah and to celebrate Hanukkah together. She then addressed what happened at Bondi Beach and noted that she’s reminded that darkness still exists in the world.

“Looking at this crowd, I am reminded of something else. There is a uniquely Jewish response to tragedy. We do not look up at the sky and ask, ‘Why?’ We don’t ask, ‘Why did this happen?’ That is a question for philosophy,” Mushka said. “As Jews, we ask a different question, we ask, ‘What? What are we going to do about it?’ And tonight, you have already answered part of that question. You showed up. You did not let terror win. You did not let fear keep you inside.”

Following the news out of Bondi Beach, the chabad’s phones kept ringing and people left copious messages that they’d be attending the menorah lighting.

Mushka noted that they’re sending strength to their brothers and sisters in Sydney, including Mercer Island’s Yossi Rudnick. While Rudnick’s friend Leibel Lazaroff, 20, attended the Bondi Beach menorah lighting, Lazaroff was shot and is fighting for his recovery in the hospital.

Rudnick, 20, departed the Bondi Beach lighting about 15 minutes before the shootings to attend another event, according to his mother Sarah Baskin. Rudnick, who was a Rabbinic intern at the Chabad Mercer Island last year, is spending a year working in the Sydney Jewish community and taking a class to become a rabbi.

Nissan then spoke to the crowd following a song in Hebrew courtesy of his father, Rabbi Yechezkel Kornfeld of the Island Synagogue on Mercer Island. Nissan said their hearts are heavy after learning what happened at Bondi Beach.

“Tonight, we are not just lighting a fire, we are firing back. For every moment of fear they tried to instill in Bondi, we are going to paint a thousand moments of joy here on Mercer Island,” he exclaimed. “We are going to turn it into the purest, brightest flame this park has ever seen.”

Mercer Island resident Rick Cohen was excited to attend the event and said, “Especially with what’s happening in the world today, it’s important to show our support and be out there.”

Prior to the event, Legislative District 41 state representative Janice Zahn said the lighting is about solidarity and being united.

“Yesterday, I had a listening session for the 41st and one of the first things I started with was just taking a moment to recognize what happened in Syndney, Australia, and targeting the Jewish community. That is absolutely unacceptable, and the more that we show up in solidarity, we’re telling everyone that this is our community and an attack on one is an attack on all of us. Violence is not the answer and we don’t accept it,” she said.

Mercer Island City Councilmember Julie Hsieh said that light will prevail: “We have such a large Jewish community on Mercer Island and it’s important that we show support for our community here. Hanukkah is about the festival of lights — it’s about light and bringing hope and so I’m here to stand with my Jewish friends and neighbors.”

With the menorah now lit, people ate food and danced to the music as the rain continued to fall.