As the days get shorter and the daylight fades, I am always encouraged by the way we lighten up the world as the winter solstice approaches. All religions have the symbol of light and make it especially prominent when the dark months arrive. And the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, teaches and reminds us every year of values which are relevant to all people across borders of all types.
The Hanukkah story goes back to 165 B.C., when the Maccabees recaptured the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem from the Hellenizing Syrian Greeks. It is a story of how the few prevailed against the many to preserve Jewish religious freedom and political independence. The Jewish victors' first act was to rededicate the temple to Jewish worship, to clean it up, remove the pagan idols and then to light the eternal light to signify the rededication of the temple to the worship of the one God.
The Hebrew word for dedicate is Hanukkah. Legend tells, that when they went to light the eternal light, they found only one chalice of oil which would last for just a day, yet it burned for eight days. And thus, the holiday of Hanukkah was established to remember not only the legend of the oil which miraculously burned in the eternal light eight days, but even more so, to commemorate the role each individual plays in the defense and preservation of freedom.
It's no surprise -- like Christmas -- Hanukkah has become commercialized with gift giving, in keeping with the rest of the seasonal buzz. We eat oily foods like doughnuts and fried potato pancakes called latkes. But each year, we also have a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the deeper significance of the holiday: The importance of protecting and defending religious freedom -- freedom of conscience, freedom of thought and freedom of belief -- cannot be overstated.
The dark forces of the soul which drove the Hellenizing Syrians to attempt to make the whole world in the image of ancient Greece, the triumphalistic call to change the "other" into their own image, still exist today in other forms. The names and locations change, but there are forces -- like those of the Syrian Hellenizers -- determined to deny people the freedom to be themselves, to hold their own beliefs or live life on their own terms. Human rights are violated all over the globe. The freedom of self-determination and freedom of thought still are not yet universally accepted values in our world. Here in our own country, polarization in so many forms dominates the landscape. Demonizing those with different views is becoming a cultural norm.
Hanukkah, in contrast, celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit to be free from the fetters of all forms of slavery and oppression. Thankfully, the assertion of the freedom of the human spirit to be fully expressed is alive and well. The long overdue rejection of sexual predation against women, the defense of religious diversity, the voices of reason calling for the preservation of dignity over the opportunism of politics are all examples of the few standing up to the many -- and prevailing.
Hanukkah is universal in its appeal to good, loving people who live by the creed "Live and let live." At this time of year, when there are many diverse religious communities participating a variety of rituals to express their interpretation of the symbol of "light," how wonderful that Hanukkah celebrates the rights of every one of our diverse brethren to be themselves and exercise those expressions. It is a reminder of one of our core values of Judaism: Unlike many traditions with the belief that their path is the one right path and which hold the intended purpose of making the whole world their one religion, the purpose of Judaism is not to make the world Jewish. Quite the opposite -- Hanukkah encourages all people to live together in peace, with respect for what makes each of us unique. Hanukkah challenges us to go beyond simply "tolerance" of our differences. Hanukkah calls us to respect each other's faiths without any compulsion to change another person's beliefs.
This year, no matter our personal tradition or community of faith, may we all realize we are one human family. As light is a unified phenomenon, when shined through a prism, a spectrum becomes visible. Within the light there are a variety of colors. If we think of the light as the spirit, then the spirit, too, has many colors, yet it is all one great light. Would it make sense to say of the colors of the spectrum, "Purple is superior to red. And yellow is false. And the whole world must be blue?!!" It would make little sense. Must not the same be true of the diverse hues and colors of the light of spirit?
In this season of light, no matter how one celebrates the light of the spirit, may we do so in the spirit of largess and inclusion. And may we work even harder to preserve the most basic of freedoms at the heart of the Hanukkah story: The freedom of each person to be themselves, unfettered by the oppression of others who wish to deny such freedom.
The candle used to light the others on the Hanukkah menorah is called the Shamash, the servant candle. May all of us serve as bearers of freedom's light. May all of our sacred celebrations serve to maintain freedom's light for all.
NAN Religion on 12/16/2017