As Hanukkah, the festival of lights, is set to begin at sundown on Dec. 14 and ends on Dec. 22 at sundown, David Waren, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, said 2025 was another year of extraordinary challenge and extraordinary resilience for the Jewish community in Connecticut and around the world.
“We are still living in the long shadow of October 7 and the two-year war that followed, even with the fragile ceasefire that took hold this fall,” Waren said.
“At the same time, I’ve seen an extraordinary level of solidarity and generosity. Jewish communities here and around the globe showing remarkable resilience. Our federation helped channel millions of dollars to humanitarian relief in Israel, including a major, multi-year partnership with Kibbutz Sufa, a small community right on the Gaza border that was devastated on October 7 and is now 90% returned and rebuilding,” he said.
“Here at home, we continued to strengthen security for synagogues and schools, support vulnerable families, and invest in programs that combat antisemitism and build bridges with our neighbors,” Waren added.
Waren said that antisemitism in America remains at crisis levels. He said there are four fronts to combat this issue, including security, education, advocacy and mobilizing allies.
Rabbi Yosef Wolvovsky models a Chanukah cap at the Glastonbury Chanukah Shoppe inside the Chabad Jewish Center in Glastonbury on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. The new Chanukah pop-up store will be open Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. and by appointment at 860-833-6451. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
According to a study released by the Jewish Federations of North America in October, 55% of Jewish Americans experienced at least one form of antisemitism in the past 12 months, and 57% believe that antisemitism is now a normal Jewish experience.
“The latest national data from the Anti-Defamation League shows 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2024, the highest number ever recorded and nearly 900% higher than a decade ago,” Waren said. “Connecticut saw 159 incidents in 2024: Slightly down from 2023 but still 134% higher than in 2022, with a disturbing number taking place in schools. Campus antisemitism was at record highs in the 2024–25 school year.”
Rabbi Yosef Wolvovsky of The Harold Rothstein Chabad Jewish Center in Glastonbury said this year’s holiday offers a welcome source of light in a time of sadness and darkness. The celebration and commemoration lasts for eight days, as did a small flask of oil in ancient times.
“We live in a time when there’s a lot of confusion out there. I would even say there’s a lot of sadness out there,” Wolvovsky said. “From a spiritual perspective, we call that darkness. It could be darkness within someone’s psyche, or it could be darkness out there in society. In Judaism, there’s a fundamental idea and it speaks about the nature of light that the nature of light is that a small flame could brighten an entire environment.”
Abe and Iris Linner of Manchester shop for their grandchildren at the Glastonbury Chanukah Shoppe inside the Chabad Jewish Center in Glastonbury on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. The new Chanukah pop-up store will be open Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. and by appointment at 860-833-6451. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Wolvovsky said Hanukkah is coming at the perfect time for all to reflect.
“This is a reminder really to Jew and non-Jew alike,” Wolvovsky said. “It’s a reminder that we have a responsibility in this world and then when we see hatefulness, when we see confusion, when we see people equating freedom, loving people with oppressive movements, we have to have the clarity to be able to shine our light. And I think that’s what the menorah is. I think that’s what the flames of the candles of Hanukkah are.”
Wolvovsky asked the community to focus on small, positive acts of kindness.
“When we act in kindness, when we smile at others, we forgive others and we reach out with love,” Wolvovsky said. “It’s like a small flame. It’s like a small candle that illuminates the entire environment.”
Wolvovsky said that is the central message of Hanukkah to kindle the menorah in a time of darkness.
“We wait for it to be dark outside, and then we light the menorah. The idea is that the menorah represents the power of the soul. The menorah represents the acts of kindness that we do. And when we light our candles, when we let our soul shine in a positive way, not only are we doing the right thing for ourselves, not only does that make our relationship with God healthy, but it illuminates our entire environment,” he said.
“And I think this year the message we’re going with is that each one of us has the ability to brighten not just our lives and the lives of our families, but to really illuminate and bring warmth and holiness to our entire environment and my extension to the entire universe,” Wolvovsky said.
Wolvovsky said the menorah is the universal symbol of freedom.
“The original menorah was that a small minority, the Jewish people in our own homeland in the land of Israel were able to repel an attack by the Syrian Greeks. And we established the temple in a way that we could serve God freely. That precedent, the idea that every person has the right and is afforded the possibility to serve God the way he or she sees is really the inspiration of the menorah and a transcends the Jewish culture. It speaks to the universal aspirations of every human being.””
Wolvovsky said all are welcome to more than 50 communal Hanukkah celebrations around the state. He plans on attending several events and all will have different flavors, but he said they all have the same theme to “shine your light.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Waren said his hope is to shift from crisis response to deeper rebuilding, in Israel, on college campuses and in Jewish life generally.
“The last two years have been about ‘putting out fires.’ The work now, consistent with the theme of Hanukkah, is about rededication. Rededicating ourselves to safety, to Jewish learning and joy, and to relationships that will make this community stronger and more united for the long term,” Waren said.
Waren said he plans on attending public menorah lightings and community gatherings this week. He emphasized that these public celebrations are profoundly important.
“Jews have never had the luxury of choosing whether or not to be visible. The menorah is meant to shine externally to the world and not be hidden in a closet. We’re not going back into the shadows. Our answer to antisemitism is to add more light, more Jewish learning, more public celebration, more civic engagement and more alliances with neighbors who stand with us,” Waren said.
“If Hanukkah has a message for 2025 and beyond, it’s that Jewish life is not just about surviving the latest trauma. It’s about rededicating ourselves — year after year — to being a source of light, not just for Jews, but for the broader community we’re blessed to be part of in Greater Hartford,” he added.
