Lumen accipe et imperti
This Latin motto of my old college, literally translated as “receive the light and pass it on”, is very relevant as we get ready to celebrate Chanukah, the Festival of Lights.
Michael Kuttner
As rabbis, communal leaders and politicians prepare their annual messages, ranging from the inspirational to the patently banal, I believe that it is time to actually look more closely at what is being preached.
Chanukah is certainly one of our Festivals that provide a myriad of different angles on which to hang a message. It appeals to religious and secular Jews alike, involved and non-involved, Jewish and, in recent times non-Jewish. Therein lays the confusing and often contradictory messages conveyed at this time of the year.
In an effort to understand the rhetoric which will be heading our way and sort out non-politically correct illusions which seem to multiply as the years go by I will try to separate the factual from the hallucinatory.
Chanukah means different things to different groups.
For some, it is a week-long excuse to indulge in showering children and grandchildren with gifts and presents.
Others will revel in the gastronomic delicacies associated with the Festival.
Lighting the Chanukiah is, of course, central to the Chag and this provides extensive opportunities for the introduction of many customs and traditions.
The story of Chanukah, with its Maccabean historical events and today’s relevance, is frequently ignored.
While observances and customs vary widely across the spectrum of Jewish life, certain trends have become obvious, which far too often are ignored because they raise inconvenient questions.
Jews are a diverse people, and therefore, their decisions on how to observe or ignore particular practices mirror this diversity. There is nothing wrong with this kaleidoscope of observances. However, when it starts to distort the original message and is hijacked in the name of whatever woke agenda is currently prevailing, then it is time to address the situation.
First, the commercialisation of Chanukah follows a familiar pattern. In the shtetls of Europe, children used to receive Chanukah gelt as a holiday present. This, later on, evolved in America into chocolate coins which had the advantage of attracting not only children but also adults. Then we had the greeting card industry latching on to the potential of selling imitation Christmas messages which, when one reads them today, makes one grimace. This has nowadays morphed into online electronic greetings, some of which are attuned to the Festival but most, unfortunately, descending into schmaltzy expressions of meaningless banality.
What all these latter-day commercial manifestations have in common is an effort to somehow compete with Xmas. In the far-flung Diaspora, the pressure to divert children’s attention away from the glitz and glamour of the Christian holiday has, in many cases, resulted in a total distortion of what Chanukah is really all about. Explaining, as many parents do, that eight days of receiving gifts is better than one day and thereby hoping that Jewish kids will somehow be insulated against the pervasive yuletide celebrations is a lost cause. Trying to compete against father Xmas, tinsel decorations, carols, Xmas parades and other such attractions promoted by commercial interests is also difficult. Dreidels certainly cannot compete with these attractions.
If children have a solid Jewish education and understanding of Judaism and their home reflects this, then there is no conflict. However, with assimilation and a lack of Jewish knowledge so prevalent today in the Diaspora combined with a growing non-affiliation to anything Jewish, the real message of Chanukah is being submerged by extraneous and conflicting diversions.
Like every Jewish Festival (except Yom Kippur), Chanukah provides an opportunity for culinary delights. However, when latkes and sufganiyot become the sole connection to anything Jewish, then the battle against assimilation is that much harder. When Judaism and Jewish history is reduced to gastronomical experiences alone, the whole ethos of why Chanukah is so important is lost.
Lighting the candles from one to eight over the days of the festival is a focal point. Diverse customs have developed over this. Whereas once upon a time, it was only the male head of the family who lit the Chanukiah, today, in an increasing number of families everyone participates. There is opposition in some quarters to women and girls fulfilling this mitzvah, but as they are obligated to light Shabbat and Festival candles, this current trend is not only logical but long overdue. Instead of a lone Menorah, households are now shining forth with a multitude of lights, involving every extended family member in the celebrations. In Israel, there is also an increasing trend to have the Chanukiot outside one’s house suitably enclosed in a glass case to protect it against the elements. Thank goodness we no longer need to hide our observances behind thick curtains and away from Jew-haters’ gaze.
Chabad has turned Chanukah into an annual mass event with huge replicas of the Menorah erected in parks and town squares in Diaspora communities and Israel. Accompanied by bands and other hoopla these are intended to attract affiliated and unaffiliated Jews and as a part of Chabad outreach efforts, it has added something dynamic which was previously missing. One negative side effect, unfortunately, is that in an effort to bring this Festival of Lights to the broader non-Jewish world, politicians and other invited personalities (Jewish and non-Jewish) are honoured to light the candles. As a public relations exercise, this is a great photo opportunity. Unfortunately, it also is a perfect time for those concerned to often spout meaningless slogans.
This brings me to the ultimate crux of where Chanukah observances are, in many cases trending.
What actually is this Festival all about?
After all, it is commemorating the Jewish struggle against pagan rites, the desecration of the Temple, the suppression of Jewish religious freedom and most importantly the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in our own land.
These critical components are increasingly being swept under the carpet in many countries and communities today in the name of the new woke religion of political correctness and resurgence in the very assimilationist phenomena which sparked the whole Maccabean rebellion in the first place.
In an increasing number of households, especially in the USA, Chanukah bushes now prevail with the Chanukiah taking its forlorn place together with an impressive Xmas tree. The emphasis is less on adherence to Jewish observance and learning the lessons of our historical experiences and more on blurring the distinctiveness of our traditions so that they blend in with prevailing and increasingly secular dogmas.
Take note of the rhetoric that will be issued forth as we approach Chanukah. There will be plenty of references to how light overcomes darkness, the few defeating the many and oil lasting for eight days.
How many of those pontificating in our direction will actually connect the dots between the Maccabean struggle for religious and political independence and sovereignty with today’s glaring hypocrisy revolving around Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, plus the delegitimisation of our connection to Jerusalem?
How many politicians and communal leaders will highlight today’s international campaign to divorce the Jewish connection with those self-same places which revolve around the commemoration of Chanukah?
How many will dare to protest the ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, which after all, should be the core of Chanukah? The Maccabeans cleansed the Temple of its pagan desecration and re-established sovereignty there. Doesn’t that somehow shine a spotlight on today’s scandalous situation?
Without committed and involved Jews, the lessons and lights of Chanukah cannot be passed on to succeeding generations.
At this time when we have been blessed to participate in the restoration of the Jewish People to their ancient homeland, the lessons of Chanukah could not be clearer.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
