Yesterday (Wednesday 27/11/13) the Embassy of Israel, together with Chabad Lubavitch celebrated the first night of Chanukah.
His Excellency Ambassador Taub, diplomats and staff at the Embassy, were joined by Rabbi Wilhelm and Rabbi Garbarchik of Chabad Lubavitch. Daniel Saunders, Chief of Staff at the Department for Trade and Economics, opened the celebration with a talk about Joseph (linked to this week’s Parasha– traditional extract of the torah read each week) and his ability to interpret dreams. He ended by saying that, “as leaders, we should stand tall. We fuse the physical and spiritual, bringing heaven down to earth. As we light the Chanukah candles, we should be the spark to light the fire and bring light to those that need it.”
Ambassador Taub spoke about the importance of Chanukah, remembering that “even when the odds are stacked against us, we can remarkably overcome them, and achieve great, unexpected miracles.”
The Embassy, as part of our Chanukah celebrations, will be raising money to support two worthwhile charities. Money will be sent to Akim, a charity working with children and adults suffering from learning disabilities, in order to help habilitate them. The Embassy is also raising money to send to IsraAID to support the emergency work they are doing in the Philippines.
The Israeli Embassy and everyone here, wish a happy Chanukah to all of our readers.