Jewish Chutzpah

On the first night of Chanukah this year, Jews in Sydney, Australia, were attacked for a simple act: being Jewish in public. There was nothing provocative about it, no slogans, no confrontation, just Jews fulfilling a mitzvah and bringing light into the world by lighting the menorah. And yet, for those who wish to see Jewish light dimmed or hidden, even that was too much.

Moments like these force a question upon us: what is the proper Jewish response when others try to extinguish our flame?

The answer can be summed up in one surprisingly Jewish word: chutzpah.

Usually, chutzpah isn’t a compliment. Parents and teachers use it to describe behavior that is brazen or out of line. A “chutzpadik” comment is one that crosses boundaries and ignores expectations. It sounds like a negative trait, and often it is.

But chutzpah has another side. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as behavior that shocks or offends, yet is carried with such confidence that it becomes impossible not to admire. In other words, when chutzpah is guided by purpose and truth, it becomes a force for positive change.

We see this in the story of Joseph. Pharaoh summoned him to interpret his troubling dreams, not to advise him on national policy. Joseph could have played it safe and stayed within the narrow task he was given. After all, who was he, as a former slave and prisoner, to offer unsolicited counsel to the ruler of Egypt?

Yet Joseph understood that the dream itself demanded a response. Without a plan to store grain during the years of abundance, the interpretation would have been incomplete. So Joseph took a risk. He spoke beyond what was asked, crossing an unspoken line. That chutzpah did not get him punished; it transformed him into viceroy of Egypt and saved an entire region from famine.

Chanukah itself is a story of chutzpah. The Maccabees were a tiny minority facing a powerful Greek empire that was willing to tolerate Judaism so long as it remained private, rational, and unobtrusive. Jewish practice could continue, but Jewish conviction could not.

The Maccabees refused those terms. Against all logic and expectation, they rebelled. They would not stay in their lane or accept a “quiet” Judaism designed to make others comfortable. Their audacity led to victory, the rededication of the Holy Temple, and the rekindling of the menorah whose light still shines today.

In our own time, the Lubavitcher Rebbe emphasized this same message. He insisted that menorahs be lit publicly—on streets, in town squares, and facing outward. Not as defiance, but as confidence. When darkness pushes back, the Jewish response is not to hide, but to illuminate more brightly.

The attack in Sydney was meant to intimidate. The Rebbe’s answer is clear: the best response to those who wish to extinguish our light is to light up the entire world with more menorahs, more Judaism, and more pride.

So be like Joseph. Be like the Maccabees. Be like the Rebbe. Have the chutzpah to shine openly and unapologetically. History has shown that this is how Jewish light not only survives but transforms the world.