Harford synagogue holds vigil for Israeli hostages on final night of Hanukkah

Cold hands and bitter winds on Thursday night didn’t stop over three dozen members of Temple Adas Shalom in Havre de Grace from marking the last night of Hanukkah with a candlelight vigil for Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

“It’s really important for our people to come together and call for the end of violence and bringing back our hostages,” said Rabbi Meeka Simerly, the religious leader of the temple, the only full-service synagogue in Harford County. “The one common denominator to hold onto and to embrace is that no one wants war.”

The vigil was the latest gathering for members of the Harford County Jewish community, who have asked for community support, engaged in interfaith dialogue with local Islamic leaders, and called for peace after the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.

Over the course of the evening, temple members joined together in Hebrew and English songs, prayed, gave readings and lit the eight candles of a giant menorah outside the temple. Different members of the congregation gave a reading for each of the eight Hanukkah candles, and Simerly led the congregation in song.

“One candle can light another and another,” said Simerly, as members of the temple lit each other’s candles in the blustery night.

“With the conflict going on there is a lot of pain but also hunger for peace,” said Lior Laskowski, a lifelong member of the temple and Harford County resident. Laskowski said she has friends and family in Israel, and also knows humanitarian aid workers in the Gaza Strip.

“For me, it’s such a reminder of how we are all humans first,” she said. “Hanukkah is about the power of the Jewish people, but also for peace. … I’m here to gather for peace in the world.”

For some members of the temple, the vigil was a reminder of the importance of Hanukkah’s history. Hanukkah, which is observed for eight nights and days every winter, celebrates the reclaiming of Jerusalem and the Second Temple from the Greeks during the Maccabean Revolt, and serves as a reminder of the resilience of the Jewish people, said temple member Ashira Quabili.

“We’ve had to fight to keep our light burning through heroic acts of the past,” said Quabili of the Hanukkah story. “The continued existence of the Jewish people is a miracle repeated through our history and we feel that especially today.”

But for some members of the temple, the vigil for hostages hit closer to home, as they remembered friends and family members in Israel.

Terry Weiner, the fundraising chair of the synagogue, has two children who live in the area between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Adam Abrams and Natalie Dotan.

“Nobody wants to kill innocent people,” she said of the conflict. “Nobody ever wants to do that.”

She said that her grandkids living in Israel are now back in school. The family is avoiding public transport and using their own private vehicles to get around.

“They’re laying low and staying out of harm’s way the best they can,” she said.

Mark Wolkow is the president of the synagogue. He said that in a time of extreme stress for Israel, it was important that the temple voice support for returning the hostages still held in Gaza home safely.

“It’s indescribable,” he said of the challenges some of his family’s friends are facing in Israel. “It takes you back to the Holocaust.”

Simerly has some of the strongest connections to Israel. She grew up in Haifa, and her brother Amit Levin, 55, serves in the Israeli Defense Forces as a heavy military equipment operator and trainer.

She’s going to Israel soon for three weeks to see her brother and help distribute 20 to 25 winter coats she collected in a coat drive to his military unit in northern Israel.

“My brother is going to bring me to his army base, and I’m going to hand deliver the jackets,” she said. “I’m going to bless each and every one of the soldiers with long life, safety and health.”

The synagogue had a group trip to Israel planned, but that was canceled after war broke out. Simerly said she’s excited to see her aging parents, connect with her brother and volunteer in agricultural activities around the country.

“We came together to send a message that has two different layers,” she said of the vigil. “First, bring our hostages home, safe and sound. Second, we are a peaceful people, and we really want to sit down for peace talks and bring this war to an end.”