Tuesday, December 04, 2018
Elder of Ziyon
There
seems to be a lot of confusion about Hanukah - to the point where it appears to
be deliberate.
Let’s
begin with what it’s not about.
1)
It’s not a Jewish Christmas
In many
circles Hanukah seems to have become an imitation Christmas – a holiday of
food, lights, decorations and gifts. This is a sad considering that although
both holidays fall in December, Hanukah has nothing to do with Christmas and
perhaps even more ironically, without Hanukah, Christmas would not exist at all.
All
Jewish holidays feature food, but the food is only a symbol, a reminder of the
miracle of the holiday.
Hanukah
is a holiday of lights but that too is a symbol, to help us remember and
proclaim the miracle of the holiday.
Gift
giving on Hanukah is not a Jewish tradition at all, only a habit adopted by
Jews living near Christians, so that their children would not become jealous of
the gifts Christians receive on their holiday. Giving children Hanukah “gelt”(=money)
is a Jewish tradition. There are different explanations for this. The Rambam
discusses the need to incentivize children to do what will be expected of them
as a grown up thus it is appropriate to provide children an example of giving
in order to teach them to give to those who have less. Additionally, as the
Greek oppressors took Jewish property, giving children money is a symbolic way
to celebrate that we have the freedom to choose what to do with what is ours
(with the emphasis on using money to support spiritual causes rather than
selfish gain). Another explanation is that as even the poorest Jew is supposed
to have candles to light for the holiday, in order to prevent shame from
children begging for their families, it became a tradition to give money to all
the children in the community. Whatever explanation is the correct one (and
possibly all are correct to some extent), the goal of Hanukah gelt is the
antithesis of the Hellenistic desire towards personal enrichment, but rather
being enriched spiritually by using money well.
2)
Which miracle?
On
Hanukah children play with dreidels marked with letters designed to remind them
of the miracle of the holiday. This teaching tool differs depending on
location. In the diaspora the dreidels are marked with four letters that say: “A
great miracle happened there.” In Israel the last letter is different,
signifying that: “A great miracle happened HERE.”
As an
American child I didn’t really comprehend
the significance. I knew the word “miracle” from storybooks. I knew
that “there” meant Israel, a place I had visited as a child. But “there” was
far away and had very little to do with my American life.
Without
a concrete explanation of what we were commemorating the symbols of the holiday
loomed larger than the message they are designed to convey. This opens the door
to many unfortunate misunderstandings.
On the
Jewish educational site Judaism 101 it says about Hanukah: Note
that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory:
Jews do not glorify war.
Excuse
me?
Of
course, the miracle of the oil is center to Hanukah but that could not have
occurred without the military victory. War isn’t something to be glorified - it’s
ugly, painful and results in grief and anguish but from there to the idea that
Hanukah doesn’t celebrate the military victory is a huge leap.
From
Josephus we learn that the first years following the victory of the Maccabees
there were Hanukah celebrations that did not including Hanukah lights. The
celebration was of victory – of the small band of warriors against the
powerful Greek army, of the small stubborn tribe who clung to their traditions
and religion and did not succumb to the compelling allure of the predominate
Hellenistic culture.
The Hanukah miracle is the miracle of warriors of the body and spirit
who refused to give up their identity and, in their stubbornness, won. THAT is
glorious!
The
miracle of light, the oil that burned for eight days when it only should have
sufficed for a single day is a symbol for the miracle of
retaining identity against all odds - a physical manifestation of the victory
of body and faith over the powers of assimilation.
When the
light of our People should have died out, through faith and hard work,
determination and willingness to suffer for a greater good, it did not. The
light is important because it is a testament to Jewish faith and that, in
return, God grants us miracles. Light without faith would not exist. Light
without the military victory would only be a dramatic folk story, easily
dismissed and quickly forgotten.
It is
the combination of light and victory that makes the miraculous story of Hanukah
complete.
3)
Without God there is no victory
Matitiyahu,
father of the Maccabees, was a Cohen, a priest in the Temple. He was also a
warrior, as were his sons.
In an
attempt to erase Jewish culture and ensure the dominance of the Greek culture,
Antiochus erected a statue to Zeus in the Temple in Jerusalem and demanded the
sacrifice of pigs on the altar. It was Matitiyahu, the priest, who set the
standard of unwavering Jewish faith. When the Seleucid Greek government
demanded the sacrifice to the Greek gods, Matitiyahu not only refused to do so,
but slew with his own hand the Jew who had stepped forward to do so. He then
killed the government official that required the act. It was his sons who led
the revolt against the oppressing government and, against all odds – regained
Jewish sovereignty and religious freedom.
Faith is
not a sentiment that can remain in the realm of theory, it calls for action.
Similarly, victory does not occur due to the actions of man, alone.
In the
Torah, before battle, the priest is supposed to tell the Nation (Deuteronomy -
Chapter 20):
"Hear, O Israel, today you are approaching the battle
against your enemies. Let your hearts not be faint; you shall not be afraid,
and you shall not be alarmed, and you shall not be terrified because of them.
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גוְאָמַ֤ר אֲלֵהֶם֙ שְׁמַ֣ע
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַתֶּ֨ם קְרֵבִ֥ים הַיּ֛וֹם לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה עַל־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֑ם
אַל־יֵרַ֣ךְ לְבַבְכֶ֗ם אַל־תִּֽירְא֧וּ וְאַל־תַּחְפְּז֛וּ וְאַל־תַּֽעַרְצ֖וּ
מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם:
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דכִּ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם
הַֽהֹלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּכֶ֑ם לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם לָכֶ֛ם עִם־אֹֽיְבֵיכֶ֖ם לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ
אֶתְכֶֽם:
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Jewish
faith says that God walks with us into battle, to fight for us
and save us. This is not a figurative description but a very literal one. The
Maccabees must have heard this prayer before battle as do IDF soldiers today. This
clip is from Israeli News (Channel 2) at the time of Operation Cast Lead (Gaza
Dec 27, 2008 – Jan 18, 2009). It opens with the IDF Chief Rabbi Rontzki
reciting the prayer before battle.
The
Hanukah song, Maoz Tzur, acknowledges this truth as it appears over and over
throughout Jewish history. In the time of the Maccabees, the exile to Babylon,
from Haman’s attempt at genocide and slavery under Pharaoh – each time the
Jewish people were in danger of being wiped out, physically or through cultural
extermination (assimilation) and each time, in different ways, God saved us
from our enemies.
Without
God there is no victory. Miracles are not a thing of religious fantasy, they
are a tangible experience, the deciding factor between life and death, a nation
victorious or a nation lost.
4)
Holiday, not a holy day
Part of
the confusion surrounding Hanukah is that it is a holiday but not a holy day.
The story of Hanukah is that of an event in Jewish history and is not part of
the Torah. The ritualistic elements of Hanukah center around the Hanukah lights,
how they are lit, what prayers are said, not working during the time they are
burning and not doing actions connected with mourning.
Hanukah
is a celebration of Jewish nationalism (which does not exist without God) and
not a holiday of religious holiness although there are some prayers that are
specifically associated with Hanukah. It similar to celebrating Israel’s
Independence Day which also commemorates the victory of a tiny group of
stubborn Jews fighting for sovereignty and freedom, against an enemy much more
powerful and well equipped and – by the grace of God – WINNING.
5)
The fight for Judea
King
Arthur and Camelot are part of a glorious but fictitious story about a King
creating a better, kinder reality for England. In contrast, the Maccabees were real
people who fought for Jewish freedom and the sanctity of the Temple on the
Temple Mount in the heart of Jerusalem.
The
Maccabees lived and died in the land which gave the Jewish People our name –
Judea.
Today
the Jewish fight for Judea continues, it is only the methodology and field of
battle that have changed. It is no longer a conquering army but a battle fought
with terminology designed to create a new reality, attempting to influence
public perception in order to affect political policy. International
organizations, companies like Airbnb, the BDS movement and individual Jew-haters
call Judea the “West Bank”, a term that is not geographical but political in
nature (it would be similar to calling Texas, “North Mexico”). - designed to
associate that area of land with Jordan, disconnecting Judea from Zion, as if
Zion would exist without Judea.
Modern
day fiction cannot change Jewish history however it can change Jewish future.
Forgetting our roots enables the fictitious to root itself and become
“alternative facts” which are already being used to wipe us off the map –
literally.
Jews are
from Judea. (And Arabs are from Arabia). It really is that simple.
6)
Two front war
The
Maccabees fought a battle on two fronts:
·
The physical battle against the army of
Antiochus who tried, by force, to eliminate Jewish identity – occupying the
land, refusing its occupants the right to live and worship as Jews, defiling
the Temple in the heart of Jerusalem.
·
The spiritual battle against assimilation,
necessitating confrontation even with other Jews who found Hellenistic culture
alluring and were willing to give up Judaism, to assimilate with the Greeks,
forgetting Jewish uniqueness for the ease of becoming like everyone else.
What
difference is there between the battle of the Maccabees and the fight of Jews
today, particularly Israeli Jews? Today, as in the time of the Maccabees, it
seems it would take a miracle to retain Jewish identity and freedom in the face
of the modern forces hell-bent on eliminating the Jewish State and Jewish
willingness to assimilate in the hope of becoming “like everyone else.”
In a
time when many view nationalism, borders and uniqueness to be evils that must
be expunged from the world, it is convenient to forget what Hanukah is all
about. It is less threatening when Hanukah becomes a trivial imitation of
Christmas, a holiday of lights and doughnuts.
Over the
centuries fear has led Jews to put their heads down and weather the storm of
whatever discrimination or violence was directed at the community: “We survived
Pharaoh, this too shall pass.” Living under oppression led Jews to turn within,
to focus on spirituality, rituals and theories. Destruction of the Temple,
exile and disconnect from the land which gave us our name led Jews to set aside
the physicality of Jews life.
We
forgot that we come from a nation of warriors.
The
re-establishment of the Jewish State led Jews around the world to once again
raise their heads in pride. In theory this was pride in prophesy actualized. In
actuality this was pride in Jewish identity once again becoming complete. The
spiritual Jew, reconnected with the physical Jew. The warrior once again, free
in the land from which our people sprang.
This, of
course, revived an even greater wave of Jew-hate and subsequent Jewish fear. It
is easy for the world to accept the meek Jew, to go through the motions of
sympathy for the dead Jew. Strong Jews who can reach their arm across the globe
to pluck Jews out of the hands of their enemies are a completely different
story. Warrior Jews who refuse to give up, refuse to die and refuse to become
like everyone else are threat to a world that demands that all nations
relinquish identity, uniqueness and borders.
Frightened
Jews, still believe that returning to meekness will appease the haters. If only
the Jewish State was less Jewish maybe the hate would die down. If only
individual Jews would set aside their Jewish identity, they could become like
everyone else and no longer be hated… Fear
makes people irrational and unable to learn from the past.
Hanukah
is the story of Jewish nationalism. An indigenous people, fighting for their
ancestral homeland and tribal rights AND WINNING.
This is
the same Jewish nationalism that was objected to when the Jewish State was
declared in 1948. The same nationalism that was recently defined by the Nation
State law, defining that the Jewish People are the only People who have the
right to self-determination as a nation within the State of Israel. All
citizens have the right to individual self-determination but only the Jewish
Nation has the right to the Jewish State.
No
wonder the Hanukah is being minimized and trivialized. Nothing is scarier than
a Maccabee.
