Nearly 18,000 people gathered at Barclays Center on Thursday as the Brooklyn Nets hosted the Miami Heat in a game that was also a tribute to the 15 victims murdered in terrorist attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia.
The evening's centerpiece was the lighting of a giant basketball menorah by 14-year-old Eli Drizin of Brooklyn, nephew of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, one of two Chabad rabbis killed in the attack. The somber yet defiant ceremony drew sustained applause from the arena as fans stood in solidarity with Sydney's Jewish community.
Young Eli was accompanied by Rabbi Mendy Hecht of Chabad Prospect Heights and Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, director of CTeen International, who co-organized the evening together with the Nets. After reciting the blessings and kindling the Menorah, attendees broke into spontaneous dance, transforming the solemn ceremony into a celebration of Jewish resilience that drew a standing ovation from the arena.
"After all that we've been through, having this big stage to share the Rebbe's message that we could all be ambassadors of light, that each person could take the light of God and make it theirs and bring more light, is the most powerful thing," said Rabbi Hecht. "This big menorah lighting was a huge uplift in morale for our people."
"We are completely devastated," said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky of Chabad World Headquarters. "Yet we are coming back even stronger. They aimed to create incomprehensible darkness; we must respond with incomprehensible light. The message of the Menorah is: when you squeeze an olive, oil emerges. When you try to crush the Jewish people, our true strength emerges."
The event brought together Jewish teens from across the tri-state area, which holds close ties to the victims, including chapters of CTeen, the world's largest Jewish teen organization with 842 chapters in 67 countries. Following the ceremony, young CTeen leaders participated in a special halftime game played on the Nets' home court.
The Nets roster includes Israeli rookies Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf, whose presence has inspired young Jews that they don't need to compromise their faith to achieve their dreams.
