Dear Friends,
We lost our Advent wreath at the Synod Office this year, but after several searches we eventually found it, safely tucked away in an old filing cabinet that we never use. (Finding blue candles for it seems to be an annual struggle, however!) I love the practice of lighting one candle a week, to mark a season of longing and expectation – of bringing a little light, and a growing light of hope, into a season of darkness.
This week, while Christians light three candles – whether blue or purple or even one pink – our Jewish siblings in faith light their menorahs, adding one additional candle a day for the eight days of Hanukkah, which started last Sunday and will conclude on Monday. They too use candles to mark a time of hope, a celebration of God’s miracles, and as a witness to their resilience in a time of oppression.
Hanukkah this year took on a tragic poignancy when a horrific act of antisemitism occurred in Australia: a mass shooting at the public park on Bondi Beach where 1,000 Jews had gathered to celebrate. Fifteen people were killed, including a child, and 40 others were injured. We grieve this heinous act of violence fuelled by hatred.
Antisemitism is on the rise around the world, including here at home in Canada. Although the Jewish community makes up only about 1% of the Canadian population, it is the religious group most frequently targeted for hate crimes: 6,219 acts in 2024 alone. That number increases each year. A poll of Jews in Canada reported that 82% of them feel unsafe. These statistics are appalling. To feel unsafe at home is heartbreaking and unacceptable.
While on our pilgrimage in the Land of the Holy One, we listened to Davoud Nasser, a Palestinian farmer, speak of his experience of feeling unsafe on the farm that his family has owned since 1916. He spoke of the aggressive tactics used by the military to push him and his family from the land – a push that has been persistent for almost 35 years. In the face of such hostility, he spoke of four precepts that guide their actions in response: we will not be victims; we will not hate; all people are created in the image of God; and we believe in justice for all. Good words to live by. In the Land of the Holy One and at home, our call as Christians is to stand with the oppressed, the marginalized and all who long to dwell in peace.
I was privileged to meet Rabbi Yael Splansky of Holy Blossom Temple at an event at Trinity College in November. We spoke briefly about her recent trip to the Holy Land, and I spoke of our impending departure. This week, I wrote to Rabbi Splansky to offer our sincere condolences for the Bondi Beach tragedy and to offer prayers and whatever support we as a Diocese can do to help at this tragic time. I urge you to do the same. Reach out to your Jewish friends and neighbours this Hanukkah. Offer words of support and condolence. Commit to standing with them in the face of rising antisemitism and hatred.
I brought a candle home from Bethlehem. It is a little white candle that I lit, along with some of the other pilgrims, from the eternal light in the grotto of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It is the place where the Church remembers the birth of Jesus. The charred wick of that candle will be lit as a center piece of our table this Christmas, a reminder of the promise and our call to peace and good will to all.
Yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
