From Bondi Beach to Tehillim 83

When Esav and Yishmael Join Hands, and When They Save Lives

1. What happened, verified

On December 14, 2025, a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney was attacked in what Australian authorities described as antisemitic terrorism. Police said a father and son carried out the shooting, killing 15 people and injuring many others. One attacker was killed at the scene, the other survived and was later charged with multiple offenses including murder and a terrorism related charge. (Reuters)

A Syrian born Muslim Australian, Ahmed al Ahmed, was filmed tackling and disarming one of the attackers, an act widely credited with saving lives. He was injured and hospitalized. (ABC)

In the days after, Australia saw mass vigils, continued public menorah lightings, and strong public statements from Muslim and Christian voices condemning the massacre and antisemitism. (ABC)

2. The Torah frame you are pointing to

There is a haunting line in Tehillim 83 describing enemies forming an alliance, and it explicitly names both Edom and the Ishmaelites together. (Sefaria)Your read is that this is not only about hatred, it is a warning about what happens when forces that usually compete unite around one goal: erasing Am Yisrael.

But Torah is never only a diagnosis. It is also a map for teshuvah.

Because the same week showed the opposite kind of joining: a Muslim man risking his life to save Jews, and many non Jews standing with the Jewish community in grief and in moral clarity. (AP News)

That is the deeper chiddush:Esav and Yishmael can join as a coalition of darkness, and they can also be redirected into a coalition of decency. The choice is human. The spark is there.

3. The “good part” inside Yishmael and Esav, in classical sources

Torah itself hints that these archetypes are not one dimensional.

Yishmael Chazal read the Torah’s wording at Avraham’s burial as a sign that Yishmael yielded honor and made a move toward teshuvah. (Sefaria)So Yishmael can mean wildness and danger, and Yishmael can also mean humility before God.

Esav Chazal also preserve the uncomfortable truth that Esav excelled in kibbud av, honoring his father, in a way that rebukes us. (Sefaria)So Esav can mean brute force and predation, and Esav can also mean loyalty and human dignity when it is purified.

This is how Torah trains the eye:Do not deny evil.Do not deny the image of God in the human being.Hold both truths at once, then act wisely.

4. “Government negligence” through a halachic lens

Torah has a legal category for preventable danger.

The Torah commands building a maakeh, a protective fence, so you do not bring blood upon a home. (Sefaria)Rambam turns this into a broad rule: any life threatening hazard must be removed, and failing to remove it is a serious violation. (Sefaria)

So when people argue about policing levels, radicalization, licensing, security failures, and whether the system ignored obvious warning signs, the Torah language is simple: A society is obligated to build fences before people fall. This is not left or right. It is pikuach nefesh.

5. October 7 and the language of Geulah

October 7, 2023 was a rupture. Hamas’ attack on Israel killed about 1,200 people and took hostages, triggering a war and a global shockwave. (Wikipedia)

Many Jews feel that this date marked a spiritual turning point, the beginning of a new inner era, what you are calling the start of Geulah consciousness.

Torah gives room for that feeling, but it also demands humility. Rambam warns us not to obsess over timelines and speculative details of the end, because it distracts from Torah and mitzvot, the actual engine of redemption. (Sefaria)

So the clean Torah version is this: October 7 revealed what was already true, and forced a decision. Sleep is over. Am Yisrael must return to God with action.

6. Chanukah is not “new,” but it is newly alive

Chanukah was established as days of Hallel and hodaah, praise and thanksgiving, after a miracle of light in a time of defilement. (Sefaria)Rambam calls the ner Chanukah mitzvah beloved, a public declaration of the miracle. (Sefaria)

This Bondi attack struck during Chanukah, and the response of Jews continuing to light, including at vigils, is literally the inner grammar of the chag: light is not a decoration, it is defiance against spiritual murder. (ABC)

And Rambam’s framing is the anchor for your “peaceful and just world for all” line: the Torah was given to bring peace in the world, and peace is so great that it reshapes priorities. (Sefaria)Peace is not passive. It is built

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7. What we do now, for Jews

If this is a window, we do not waste it.

Step 1. Add light that costs you something1 extra fixed Torah learning slot daily, even 15 minutes1 extra act of tzedakah daily1 extra Shabbat upgrade, earlier candle lighting, cleaner speech, more presence

Step 2. Repair the inner civil warTehillim 83 is about enemies outside, but the deeper danger is disunity inside.Commit to one concrete repair in ahavat Yisrael:Call one person you drifted from.Make peace.Drop one feud.

Step 3. Make “maakeh” in your own lifeRemove hazards you already know about.A toxic habit.A risky environment.A friend group that drags you to sin.Torah is telling you: build the fence before you fall. (Sefaria)

Step 4. Israel as the gravity centerYou said it sharply: Chanukah is showing there is only one place Jews need to move to.

The Torah sources that speak to the pull of Eretz Yisrael are real, including the idea that one may compel a move to Eretz Yisrael within marriage law contexts, and the broader mitzvah language around dwelling in the Land. (Sefaria)

But the Torah way to say it responsibly is: Eretz Yisrael is the home base of Jewish destiny, and this era is pushing Jews to take that seriously. Each person still needs daat, counsel, and practical planning. Aliyah is holy, and it should be done with wisdom, not panic.

8. What this means for everyone

If you are not Jewish, the translation is still simple.

1 Human beings are made in the image of God. Targeting Jews at a holiday gathering is an assault on that image. (Sefaria)2 Moral courage is contagious. One man tackling a gunman is a sermon louder than a thousand speeches. (AP News)3 Real peace requires fences, policy, education, and a culture that treats hatred as a fire, not as free entertainment. (Sefaria)4 In Jewish terms, the goal is a world where nations call on God with one shoulder, unified in service, not unified in hate. (Sefaria)

9. Closing

Edom and Yishmael can join to destroy. Tehillim 83 warns that it happens. (Sefaria)Bondi also showed a different alliance is possible: people of different faiths standing against evil, and one Muslim man saving Jews with his hands and his blood. (Reuters)

The redemption move is not predicting dates. It is choosing light when darkness shows its face. It is turning the fear into mitzvot. It is building fences that protect life. It is making peace, because all of Torah is aimed at peace. (Sefaria)

• AP News

• The Guardian

• The Guardian

• Reuters

• AP News