“Gathering each night to light the menorah, a symbolic nine-branched candle holder, is usually a joyful ritual, a moment filled with light,” he explained.

“However, in the shadow of terrorism, this unity can also serve as an act of resistance,” he added.

“It conveys a message that your suffering is acknowledged, and you are not isolated,” he continued.

He emphasized that the Jewish community is diverse, and while they share a collective sorrow, individuals express their grief in unique ways.

Before the gathering, Mordecai remarked, “We must allow each person to speak and share their grief without interruption. Our role is to witness their sorrow and listen, even when their words challenge us.”

Hall observed, “This strong urge to come together leads to the creation of temporary or lasting memorials, forming an emotional space where the living engage with memories of those who have passed.”

Ahead of the event, Mordecai said: “We’re not allowed to interrupt that person while that person is speaking and expressing their grief. And we are bearing witness to their grief and listening even across difference, even when it’s difficult for us to hear maybe.”

‘Love with nowhere to go’

“This is where we see this often overwhelming desire to meet communally, to create these temporary and sometimes permanent memorials, which serves as a sort of an emotional landscape where the living encounters the memory of the deceased,” Hall said.

Communities grieve ‘sense of safety’

A Hanukkah celebration in London on Tuesday evening turned into a vigil for victims of the Bondi attack, while a celebration in Jerusalem united Jewish organisations to honour the victims.

“So anything that is about reestablishing a community, bringing the community back together, acknowledging what has happened to the community.”

‘Reclaim the beach’

Courtney Moran is a member of Bondi Fairy Penguins swim club — which was one of the groups behind Wednesday’s swim event.

“The ocean holds a lot of people without judgement. “It allows emotions to be felt physically through breath, movement, cold and stillness rather than kind of being explained.”

Grief rituals in Judaism

“Beautiful that we have here, we have stones, we have flowers,” Friedman said. “Each one personalised by people who have really been touched by this tragedy.”