Darkness can only be vanquished by light
It hardly seems possible that the most advanced and enlightened nation in human history is still engaged in a battle against antisemitism.
Yet, here we are.
Any community of any size, including this one, has within it people who survived the Holocaust or are the children of survivors.
That makes the kind of hatred which made the Holocaust possible personal. It also means that history is not relegated to the past. The writer William Faulkner noted that the past isn't past, meaning that its impact is alive and well.
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Hatred is intersectional, meaning that if it is lodged against one group, it never ends with that group.
Like a contagion, it thrives on ambivalence and denial. It misuses religion. It relies on the silence of witnesses who avert their gaze from what they know is evil.
Unabated, it devours unless it is exposed and destroyed.
That's where light comes in.
Today marks the first day of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights which recounts the story of survival against enormous odds.
However, let's not kid ourselves. Some people have no use for light. We know this is so by the rise in antisemetic and racist incidents across the country. According the the FBI, 63% of religious hate crimes are aimed at Jews, who make up 2.4% of the population.
Organized hate groups, which target racial minorities and Jews, also are flourishing. Ohio, unfortunately, is one of those places which has fostered the growth.
Whose heart didn't drop at the sight of the Ohio license plate on the vehicle which struck and killed Heather Heyer in Charlottesville in 2018? The driver, James Alex Fields Jr. of Toledo, is serving life in prison plus 419 years.
Such people choose darkness rather than light because light exposes. It leaves us without excuse or a means by which we can camouflage our true intent.
We know some people keep silent in the presence of darkness because they want to see a show. Ours has become a culture in which people are more likely to grab their phones to record an incident of antisemitism rather than step in to stop it.
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But being shocked at a video of a synagogue firebombing, or a rabbi being attacked on the street, or the sight of torch-bearing supremacists proclaiming that "Jews will not replace us!" is not enough.
If we are to be the nation we say we are, being a bystander is not an option.
It's only a matter of time until it happens to you for being the wrong color, or in the wrong political party, or for being overweight, or for being a woman ― or man ― or wearing the wrong team jersey, or just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Every year at this time, the world as we know it gives Las Vegas a run for its money with holiday-light displays that can be seen from space.
Some people are geniuses; others are just mad scientists.
It's all in good fun, but that's not the kind of light we need.
We need good people who are willing to be a light in whatever situation they may find themselves.
No effort is too small.
Temple Israel will host a First Night Outdoor Chanukah Candle Lighting at 5 p.m. today at Beit Ha'am at 432 30th St. NW in Canton. There will be singing, dreidels, and a small snack.
Hanukkah reminds us that light is life, and those who choose to embrace the light are lifegivers who can help defeat the darkness.
Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hanukkah reminds us that darkness can only be vanquished by light
