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Chabad has taken upon itself the mission to place a menorah in every town square in America (often side by side with a pine tree). This is in addition to have a Chanukah party for the local ainom Yehudim politicians. The local ainom yehudim tolerate this religious symbol out a sense of tolerance & sometimes fear of being accused of antisemitism.
Countless menorah’s have been vandalised by people who don’t appreciate us flaunting our YomTov.
Chazal also understood that performing mitzvos in public puts us in a sakonah. This is why in Chutz l’aretz we light inside our home & not outside.
Antisemitism is on the rise world wide, it behooves us to return to the wisdom of Chazal & perform mitzvos out of the site of our sonim.
We ask of our Chabad brothers not to increase antisemitism in the name of kiruv rechokim.“Chazal also understood that performing mitzvos in public puts us in a sakonah.”
This was at the time where anti semitism was encouraged and instituted on a governmental level. Bh that doesn’t apply today. Also the main reason for the menorahs in town
squares didn’t apply then either as it was very rare for a yid not to be frum.Would you also advocate for men not to wear yarmulkes in public and suffice with a nondescript cap? It is such thinking that emboldens anti semitism as it shows we expect not to be treated fairly and expect not to have religious freedom
Haimy- while I am a big believer in conducting our lives and actions with tznius- not just as a dress code- and doubt that these public and sometimes over-the-top menorah displays fill the mitzva of pirsumei nissa, to what extent does your recommendation of performing the mitzvos out of site of our sonim go? Should we not wear our tzitzis out, yarmulkes in the work place, walk to shul in shtreimels, gather a minyan at the rest stop along the highway? There were times in America that few would do these things in public. Should we hide our mitzvos as the Marranos did? What is the balance between doing the mitzvos proudly and not flaunting our lifestyles?
There will be antisemitism no matter what- as history teaches us, those who don’t look particularly Jewish have not escaped being persecuted as Jews.Haimy’s main point is correct.
CS, there are halochos that in pubic among goyim we avoid displaying the tzitzis and allowed at work to be with
out a yatrmulke b’H we don’t have to worry about it mostly anynore.I was the first one in 1968 to work for Chemical Bank in a yarmulke.
Menorahs are vandalized more than shuls? Would need data on that. Otherwise what you’re saying is that we’d have to hide our shuls. Menorahs don’t cause antisemitism and more than shuls do. It’s just an easy target. As far as sakanah….what do you think the sakana would be from a menorah? I mean a sakana to the yid, not to the menorah.
Good for you laskern!
Haimy & chabadshlucha, both make good points.
I’ve been somewhat involved in public lighting ceremonies some years ago, and it was a delight to see many secular or unaffiliated Jews enjoying it ( and latkes, music etc.) and how much pride they exhibited, they and their children, even just for the hour.
We’re between a rock and a hard place.like big dif between yarmulkes and monarahs in town squares….one is doing mitzvos publicly, the other is making your mitzvah public.
Public lighting isn’t really allowed, in a not Jewish neighborhood. It can be done in Monsey or Lakewood, but that’s about it.
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