Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection, and our leader today is Professor Joe Goldblatt, chair of the Edinburgh Interfaith Association.
Deputy Presiding Officer, distinguished members of the Scottish Parliament and dear friends, good afternoon. As chair of Scotland’s oldest interfaith association, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary of serving all faiths and none, I am indeed humbled and honoured to be invited to address this august body.
For 5,764 years, the Jewish people throughout the world have demonstrated great resilience despite our many challenges. When I was a wee bairn in my home town of Dallas, Texas, my mother, born to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, always erected in our home and decorated the largest and most beautiful Christmas tree in our neighbourhood. We also lit our eight Chanukah candles. One night, the Chanukah candelabra was a wee bit too close to the tree, and several branches started to burn. My mother screamed for help and our papa ran into the lounge with a bucket of water and splashed the tree. He then turned to us and said, “Mama, it’s a miracle—the burning bush!”
The story of Chanukah, which begins this year on 7 December, demonstrates that my ancestors had faith in the Almighty by hoping that only four days of oil would last for eight days to kindle their eternal light and their faith. The oil miraculously lasted. We now annually spin the dreidel top, and when a child wins they receive a gold-wrapped chocolate coin. I have played this game with thousands of our Scottish primary school pupils as I teach them about Judaism. They, too, must then decide whether to keep the treasure of the coin or share it with others who have greater need. In every classroom, when I invite them, they always donate. Bless our Scottish bairns.
One child in a Scottish Borders primary school told me that he had heard that Jews were often oppressed and punished. He then asked, “Can you ever just stop being Jewish?” I thought about this for a moment and I asked him whether he could ever stop being Scottish. He sprang up from his chair and said, “Never!” You see, our precious individual identity, as you have debated many times in this chamber, is important to all of us.
As I discovered those many years ago, it takes not only a burning bush to make a miracle; there are miracles deep inside us. I wish all of you and yours a happy Chanukah and Christmas that will hopefully usher in the miracles of greater love and peace among every one of us. Thank you. God bless you. God bless Scotland. Amen.
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