The Meaning
of Chanukah
(and why
it’s important even if you aren’t Jewish)
By Hank Silverberg
 |
| (Chanukah Menorah lit for first night , downtown Fredericksburg, VA Photo courtesy ,Anna Loftis) |
The Jewish
Festival of Lights—Chanukah (or Hanukkah) is this week. It is an eight-day festival, considered a minor
holiday on the Jewish calendar.
The celebration
has grown over the last century among 6.9 million Jews in America, because
most years Chanukah falls about the same time as Christmas. But despite
people’s misconception, the two holidays have no connection.
Some facts
about Chanukah:
*Chanukah is
NOT the Jewish Christmas. It has nothing to do with Jesus.
*When it is
celebrated is based on the Hebrew calendar, which is based on the Lunar calendar. It has ten months of varying lengths.
So, the eight-day holiday can occur anywhere between Halloween and New Year’s
Day, depending on the lunar cycle.
*Presents
were not traditionally a big part of the holiday.
*Chanukah is a celebration of religious freedom.
The roots of
the holiday date back to the Second Century B.C.E., or about 200 years before the
birth of Jesus. A small
group of Jews called the Maccabees, rebelled against Seleucid Empire (312 -- 63 B.C.E.) which had suppressed their religion
and identity.
*Chanukah is important to pass on to our children. It commemorates the insurrection
by this small group of freedom fighters who triumphed over tyranny and saved
the Jewish faith and culture from oblivion. It was the
first fight for religious freedom in recorded history.
The word
Chanukah means “dedication” in Hebrew
and Aramaic. The holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in
Jerusalem after the Assyrians were defeated by the Maccabees. The story goes that oil to light the
ceremonial lamps at the Temple after it was re-dedicated should have been sufficient for just one day, but lasted
instead for eight days. That is why Chanukah lasts eight days. A special menorah, or “hanukkiyah,” has therefore
become the most recognizable symbol of the holiday.
For most
Jews, Chanukah is a family activity, a time to light a candle each night. We play a game of "dreidel" connected to the story (the Hebrew letters stand for "a great miracle happened there") and in many Jewish homes, small gifts are exchanged. Gift
giving has grown in America because of the proximity of the holiday to
Christmas. But it was spurred on more by Madison Avenue than by Jewish (or Christian) tradition.
There is
more to the celebration and the history. (The link posted above has more details.) But for me the story of
Chanukah has always resonated into the contemporary world. The fight for
religious freedom, and for ethnic and cultural identity continues in many
places around the globe today. That fight is not just for Jews, but for Christians,
Muslims, Hindus and others.
The First Amendment protects us here in the United States, most of the time. but not so elsewhere. We need continued vigilance to make sure there is no erosion in that unique protection.
The First Amendment protects us here in the United States, most of the time. but not so elsewhere. We need continued vigilance to make sure there is no erosion in that unique protection.
As I light
the candles each night, I will not only be thinking about the Maccabees in the traditional story or the rise in Anti-semitism in the United States over the last few years. I will also be thinking about
the Kurds in Syria and Turkey, the Uighur Muslims and Tibetans in China,
and
Christians in Indonesia, among others, who are all being persecuted for their
faith right now in 2019. You should be thinking about them, too.
News Notes:
So, how’s
that Trump/Republican tax cut working out for you?
The
legislation, passed two years ago this week, which Trump and his Republican colleagues claim as their biggest
success over the last two years, cut the corporate rate by 40%. Corporate tax
revenue fell by 31% as a result. At the same time the federal deficit for the
year was $984 billion, which is remarkably high for a time the country is not in a recession or fighting a major war.
The average
worker did get a small bump in their take-home pay, but most people did not
notice it. The tax cut did NOT stimulate economic growth, which went up just a modest
2.9%, exactly the same as in 2015 without the cuts, nor did it produce much new corporate investment as supporters said it did.
Mr. Trump and
the GOP like to point to the “do nothing Democrats” in the House for a lack of
progress on issues like health care, infrastructure and the economy. But they
missed those 400 bills that passed the Democratic controlled House. Most of those have been held up
in the Republican controlled Senate. To be frank, in an average year there are usually about 700 bills or so that pass the
House, with about half then clearing the Senate. But with the GOP and Mitch
McConnell in charge there, only 70
have become law this past year.
Of course,
the big news of the past week was the Impeachment of the President. (You knew I would get to that eventually.) But Mr. Trump
is still in office and probably will still be when we all go to the polls next
November. Not one—yes, not one—of the Republican Senators sees anything
wrong with inviting another country to interfere in our elections in exchange
for aid that had already been approved by Congress that was then withheld by the
President. It’s not that they don’t think it’s impeachable.
They don’t even believe it was wrong, and frankly that is baffling.
I’ve been
telling people for weeks, if you really want Donald Trump gone, you’d better
get everyone who agrees with you out to the polls next November 3rd,
because that is the only way he is leaving the Oval Office.
Happy
Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year.
Editors note: For those of you who want to know, the menorah in the photo above is located in Hurkamp Park in downtown Frederisksburg, VA. There is a huge lit up Christmas Tree a hundred yards away. This is America. )
(Your
suggestions and comments on this blog are welcome.)
(You can still by a copy of my book in time for the holidays at BN.com, Amazon.com or by emailing me at hanksilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get it at a reduced rate. )
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