Wisdom in an Age of Hatred: A Hanukkah Reflection after Bondi Beach

After Bondi Beach, Hanukkah reminds us that light endures. Ancient hatred persists, yet God grants wisdom to preserve life, peace, and hope.

The festival of Hanukkah is meant to be a season of light—candles burning defiantly against darkness, families gathering to remember resilience, and a people recalling how God preserved them when extinction seemed imminent. Yet the tragedy at Bondi Beach, where Jews celebrating Hanukkah were violently attacked, has once again reminded the world that ancient hatred has not disappeared; it has merely changed its clothing.

This moment demands more than outrage. It calls for wisdom.

Scripture teaches that when Joseph stood before Pharaoh, he was not facing a symbolic crisis but an existential one. Nations were about to starve. The future itself was under threat. Joseph did not respond with fear or vengeance, but with divine insight—wisdom that preserved life, stabilized societies, and protected God’s covenant purposes. Survival came not by power alone, but by God-given discernment.

Hanukkah itself tells the same story. The miracle was not only that the oil lasted, but that faith endured. Jewish survival has never depended merely on numbers or might, but on wisdom—knowing how to live, when to resist, and how to remain faithful under pressure. The menorah burns not because darkness is absent, but because light is chosen.

The attack at Bondi Beach exposes a painful truth: antisemitism is not an idea of the past; it is a present danger. Yet Scripture insists that hatred does not have the final word. God does not abandon His people to chaos. Again and again, He provides wisdom ahead of crisis—not just to survive the moment, but to secure the future.

Wisdom in the biblical sense is not abstract intelligence. It is heaven’s strategy for life in a hostile world. It enables restraint when emotions demand reaction, foresight when fear clouds judgment, and clarity when confusion threatens to overwhelm. This kind of wisdom is urgently needed today—for Jewish communities, for Israel, and for nations wrestling with rising hatred and violence.

For believers, this moment is also a summons to prayer. Not reactionary prayer fueled by fear, but intercessory prayer rooted in confidence that God still guards His covenant.

Prayer that asks not only for protection, but for discernment—wisdom for leaders, security agencies, communities, and families. Prayer that contends for peace without naivety, and justice without vengeance.

Hanukkah proclaims that light is not extinguished by darkness. Joseph’s story proclaims that wisdom precedes deliverance. And history itself testifies that the Jewish people are not preserved by chance, but by the faithfulness of God.

In a world where hatred resurfaces with alarming boldness, we must pray for wisdom that preserves life, restrains violence, and guides nations away from destruction. May the God who sustained His people then release wisdom now—wisdom for survival, wisdom for peace, and wisdom that ensures the light continues to shine.

Prayer

God of covenant and mercy, we grieve the hatred and violence that sought to extinguish light. Comfort Jewish families and communities, grant wisdom to leaders, and release peace over Jerusalem and the nations. Let Your light overcome darkness and Your justice preserve life.

Amen.