MERRY CHANUKAH!
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It wasn't always a major Jewish holiday, certainly not one of the pilgrimage observances of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, nor did it come close to the awesomeness of Yom Kippur. But, Chanukah commemorates a valiant, noble story, a kind of David and Goliath tale, of the Jewish people rising up against the mightier oppressor and somehow prevailing. The story of Judah and the Maccabees is inspiring, and in many ways embodies much of our historical experience in exile, driven away and persecuted only to live to see another day. Even today, the story has resonance because as less than 1% of the world's population, we still somehow manage to capture the attention of much of the world, as recent days have shown. And the world still finds ways to vilify us, whether through overt acts of hatred of Jews or cloaking anti-Semitism in misleading garb, but whatever the manifestation, all with the intent to delegitimize and destroy us. And we still find creative ways to resist.
In the face of so many external threats, perhaps we have found the most dangerous comes from within, from apathy. But the historical record shows that in spite of those who have found it easier to give up on their Jewishness, we have been a scrappy, innovative bunch, taking our Judaism and Jewishness with us wherever we go and finding innovative ways to keep it relevant in our lives. Chanukah has been many things to us over time, but for most of our history it was just a minor holiday-- until, we came here. Here in America, we made it into something else, something bigger. We have fond memories of this festival of lights, the warm glow of the lit multi-colored candles, the Chanukah gelt, real or chocolate, the presents every night, dreidels, latkes, and knowing it was nearly time for Winter break. It's just a great holiday to celebrate, but within the core of the festivities is something much more important, a clue to understanding our continued survival in the face of so much destruction, persecution, and in America, just the gradual erosion of our sense of Jewish particularism. The truth is it hasn't always been easy to be Jewish in America. The 19th and 20th centuries were filled with episodes of prejudice and discrimination. For all the talk of freedom of religion and separation of church and state, in many ways this country has prided itself for much of its existence on being a Christian nation-- Christian in creed, Christian in deed, with a transported theology which for centuries blamed the Jews for the death of its Messiah. It was a theology with dire implications for the upward mobility and acceptance of America's Jews. And all we wanted was to Americanize, to acculturate, if not to assimilate. We just wanted our holidays to be like everyone else's holidays. Christmas was so dominant, so pervasive, and still, today, so in our ears every time we walk into a department store and listen to "Silent Night." It is such a seductive season of decorating trees with beautiful, colorful ornaments, gifts and chestnuts roasting on open fires. For too long, we were so fearful of losing our identity through assimilation, so threatened by this dominant culture. But we had been through so many challenges before, so many threats to our existence and identity. It's as if we had become hard-wired over the centuries in the modern era to adapting to the prevailing culture, yet finding ways to adjust, to acculturate, without assimilating. And so in America, Chanukah became the perfect antidote to Christmas envy as we promoted it into a feast of gift giving. Was this a shameful dilution or, rather, a demonstration of cultural ingenuity and determination to remain Jews in the face of extraordinary pressure? Chanukah may historically and religiously be a minor holiday. But as a marker of our identity as American Jews, it has addressed a void and filled it with the hallmarks of what being Jewish is for so many of us- -a creative response to the forces of assimilation conveyed in the context of our indomitable will and spirit. In this sense, Chanukah is very important indeed. |
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