Eight Crazy Nights

With all the discussion about populism recently, I thought it appropriate this time of year to mention  one of the more celebrated populist uprisings in Jewish history.  The holiday that honors this insurrection is known as Chanukah (which means rededication).  Chanukkah is probably one of the best known, and least understood, Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration.  It is bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday observed in the United States.

The story of Chanukkah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular materialist society.

More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees.  They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Selucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.

According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud , at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle.

Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory.  Traditionally this has been explained by noting that the Jewish faith does not glorify war but I suspect there is also another reason - the rabbis who shaped rabbinic Judaism may have felt that the success of the rebellion was too short lived and was not "spiritual" in character.

But another way to interpret these events is that it was one of the first national liberation struggles in recorded history.  The true miracle was that a group of people, against all odds and a far superior military force, rose up and fought off the shackles of oppression.  These people rejected the imperialist imposition of a foreign religion and culture, inspired by the vision of a God who enables us to change, transform and heal the world.  They were not realists, trying to find a way to accomadate the status quo - these were people who, guided by their faith, said the way things are are not the way they have to be. Their stubborness is an inspiration for all those who seek a better world.

Chanuka, like the other "celebrations of light," reaffirms hope during these very dark times.  Go in peace.