PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A Palm Beach Gardens rabbi is grieving the loss of his childhood friend, who was among at least 15 people killed during a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia during a Hanukkah celebration.
Rabbi Dovid Vigler of Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens said he was "crushed" when he learned his friend Yaakov Levitan was shot and killed during the attack that occurred during a gathering for the first night of the holiday.
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"I'm in a lot of pain. I'm hurting," Vigler said. "I was crushed. It was very difficult for me to find my strength, to find my balance."
The two men shared a deep bond that began in childhood in South Africa.
"He's born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where I'm from. Jacob's family were very longstanding members of my parents' synagogue in Johannesburg, South Africa," Vigler said. "I was the rabbi's son, and he was one of the members. And we would play ball together growing up, we would run around during, you know, during services, we played together."
Years later, Vigler learned his childhood friend had also become a rabbi, a transformation that traced back to a single study session they shared.
"This amazing, beautiful soul who grew up in my synagogue, in my father's synagogue, had become a rabbi. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know we hadn't been in contact several years, and he said something so moving to me," Vigler said. "I said, 'How did this happen?' And he said to me, 'Remember, David, when you came back, when you were from yeshiva, when I came back from my studies in Israel, during my break, he said, we sat down together and we studied'"... I studied with him, one chapter from this book with him, and he said to me, 'David, that one chapter set me on the path which I am on today.'"
Now he is just left with the memories of his longtime friend. This shooting during a time of celebration for the Jewish community has many feeling on edge as they try to continue Hanukkah under the shadow of tragedy.
"This is stuff of the Dark Ages," Vigler said. "These cowardly terrorists who were firing on unarmed woman and children and men. It's deeply disturbing on many levels."
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Vigler said it sickens him that Levitan was on the beach for worship when his life was cut short, leaving behind a wife and four children.
"You never know whether the next encounter with someone you love might be the last encounter," he said. "To make his wife a widow and his children, his four children, never again be able to call Abba father."
Despite the somber start to Hanukkah, Vigler said he is not allowing his congregation to be scared by the attack.
"They tried to bring fear and pain and grief upon the global Jewish community," Vigler said. "For us to allow them to do that would be a victory for those cowardly terrorists."
As the sanctuary at Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens was illuminated with the glow from the second menorah candle for Hanukkah, Vigler said the holiday's message of bringing light to darkness remains relevant.
"This reminds us never to give up hope," he said. "Light will overwhelm darkness, hope will overwhelm despair and despondency."
He added: "Hanukkah reminds us that everything will be good in the end. If it's not good, it means it's not the end."
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