Rabbi Metzger,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

It is a great pleasure to be with all of you to celebrate Chanukah together as neighbors.

Thank you for inviting me to light the Shamash.

An event like this is also a reminder of the efforts of Rabbi Schneerson and others – and the need for all of us to keep working for religious freedom around the globe for all people. 

The Shamash will give its light to the eight others. And it will itself continue to shine brightly.

And so it is with the life and love in our hearts we give to others. They do not diminish – in fact, they grow the more we share them.

This is one of Chanukah’s many lessons that brings us hope in a world when much can make us despair.

The lesson that instead of fearing the darkness, we can light a light.

That is what we are trying to do at the United Nations. 

Together, may we all help brighten our world and defeat the darkness in our times.

Chanukah sameach! Thank you.