Bay Area Jewish community members told JNS that they were “grateful” to celebrate Chanukah at the San Jose Sharks arena on Dec. 16 and that it was uplifting in light of the Sydney mass shooting.
The San Jose Sharks hosted a “Hockey and Chanukah” night at SAP Center, where, just before the Sharks played the Calgary Flames, the Chabad of Downtown San Jose provided food and games.
After more than an hour, Rabbi Shaya Bernstein, co-director of the Chabad of Downtown San Jose, lit an electric menorah inside the arena alongside Sharkie, the team mascot, who was wearing a Chanukah sweater.
Brooke Long, a group sales representative for the Sharks who organized the event for the organization, told JNS that more than 100 people attended.
After the mass shooting in Sydney, “the natural reaction is to hide, to be afraid, and that sometimes is what these attacks are asking for, but to do the opposite, to come together, to celebrate Chanukah in a place of safety and love and good peace, it’s beautiful,” said Long, who is not Jewish.
Bernstein told JNS that it was his fourth year doing a Jewish heritage night mixed with Chanukah with the Sharks and that he’s “gotten more questions than ever about joining this year.”
“Chanukah is the miracle of lights, so we shine our light, keep trying to illuminate the darkness and do the best we can,” he said.
Ethan Cheever, a teacher at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward, Calif., told JNS that he was “a little bit nervous” going into the event, as he “wasn’t sure if we were going to see a bunch of protests and crazy stuff outside.”
He said he was “grateful” for the organization’s security and that it was indoors, as he doesn’t feel comfortable going to outdoor events right now.
Despite more people coming than expected, Cheever said that “more of us have to come out to events like this, especially in hard times.”
