Chanukah Musings

We’re right in the middle of the holiday of Chanukah. I just wanted to make a few brief thoughts about the holiday.

First, Chanukah is one of the most widely celebrated holidays among non-observant Jews. I find that ironic since it is not at all clear which side most of them would have been on had they lived in the time of the Maccabees. Would they have sided with those in favour of abandoning Judaism and assimilating into the wider Hellenist culture, or would they have been willing to give their lives by standing with Matathies, when he called “All those who are for G-d follow me”? Something to think about

Second, I wanted to point out another example of some terrible PR work by Israel. Israel has a knack for picking the worst possible symbols for things. The ministry of Tourism uses the man holding the huge bunch of grapes as their logo. Do you remember where this image comes from? It’s the tragedy of the spies; the event that lead to the establishment of Tisha B’Av, the most tragic day in Jewish History. Throughout history, just about every bad thing that has happened to the Jews happened on that day (the destruction of the first and second temple, the expulsion from England, The expulsion from Spain, The start of WWI – which lead to the Holocaust…).

The story of Chanukah is about the Maccabees fighting against Judaism being overrun by Hellenist culture. They gave their lives for the cause. Today, when we think of the name Maccabees, what do we think of? The most obvious is the “Jewish Olympics”. The Olympics is the most Greek of all things; let’s run around naked, show off our perfect bodies and glorify the physical. To take the most Greek of all events and name it after the Maccabees, who gave their lives to prevent Judaism from being overrun by Greek culture, is just about the biggest slap in the face you can think of. It’s like naming a Shul “Congregation I Eat Pork”.

Being in the high tech field, I do openly welcome modern culture, but I always know where it stands in relation to my Jewish roots. That’s what many of us need to keep in mind. There is no problem with participating in the modern world, but it should come after G-d, not before.