Chanukkah, Rome and Jewish Survival

By Rabbi Brian -- I’m writing this early on January 1^st after returning yesterday from a short city trip to Rome with Peter. I was planning to write about Chanukkah and our fabulous celebration, an amazing example of IJC at its communal best, but my memory of Chanukkah this year has lost much of its joy. So, instead, here are some musings on Rome, sunshine and 15°C.

The last time I visited the city was 35 years ago, and while the spectacular sights haven’t lost their magnificence and grandeur, the number of tourists seems to have multiplied exponentially, making it quite difficult to enjoy the city. At times it even felt dangerous, sardined into metro trains and squashed for hours, queuing for every popular venue. Saint Peter’s Basilica was perhaps the worst. The large part of our two-hour guided tour was spent standing in line, and I have to admit I’m not good at standing in line.

As we climbed to the top of the dome of Saint Peter at the end of the tour, my legs felt the same as they usually do at the end of Yom Kippur. The Vatican Museums held more promise, but once again the numbers were simply insane. After being herded through what seemed like kilometers of galleries, without much opportunity to take it all in, we finally reached the Sistine Chapel, the place we really wanted to see. But as we entered, the guards told us to keep moving, not to stop. I think we managed one minute in the place and only the briefest glimpse of the Creation of Adam.

The Colosseum tour was expensive (we booked too late) but also quite spectacular, and given the wider spaces and extensive gardens of the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, the tour was more leisurely and less hectic. I learned many new things from our expert guide and was surprised to hear that after destroying the Temple and looting its treasures (especially the menorah famously portrayed in the renowned arch), Titus arrived back in Rome with tens of thousands of Jewish slaves from Jerusalem and its environs. According to our historian/archaeologist guide, no one knew what to do with them, let alone how to feed and maintain them, so they put them to work building the Colosseum itself. Josephus even suggests that some of the more robust specimens trained and performed as gladiators. All new to me.

One exception to the tourist madness was our visit to the Ghetto, the Jewish Museum and the Great Synagogue. No hordes of tourists, no endless queues, just a small square with various kosher eateries (and yes, I tried the deep-fried artichoke at Ba’Ghetto), the staple Beit Chabad inviting two minutes of tefillin, a couple of book/Judaica shops, and round the corner the very impressive synagogue, with a small but beautiful museum in the basement. The Jewish community in Rome has enjoyed continuous presence since antiquity, centuries before the destruction of the Temple. The community has survived ghettos, papal restrictions, Fascism, and Nazism and its magnificent Synagogue stands today as a symbol of survival without rupture.

We step into 2026 without illusions. Jews today are facing complex challenges. Our tradition never asks us to be naïve about the world. It asks us rather to be faithful to the possibility that tomorrow can be shaped by what we choose today. The world is fragile, peace is never guaranteed, and history does not move in straight lines. And yet, our people, like the Jews in Rome, have been able to plant even when we are unsure of the harvest. We have lit our candles knowing they will not banish all of the darkness, but we light them anyway. Our communities thrive on acts of kindness, learning, prayer, and community, even when their impact is not immediately visible.

As this year begins, I invite you to choose optimism without denial, courage without bravado, and trust without complacency. May we support each other when times are tough and celebrate together when times are good. May we remain attentive to suffering, committed to justice, and open to joy when it finds us.

Above all, may 2026 be a year in which we continue to show up for one another, for our community, and for the future we are still called to build. May 2026 be a year of blessing, resilience, and renewed hope.