As we’ve been working our way through the Book of Genesis, we’ve been reliving our history of sibling disharmony and the ability our ancestors had to fight with those they were closest with. This week opens with Joseph and his being singled out by his father to be more special than all of the others. It then immediately turns to his ability to rub their faces in his favored status by telling them about his dreams that were obviously about this subject. The text says that “they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.” Such immense pain and such brokenness are not merely biblical. The inability to talk and to work things out can be seen time and again through the ages of history.
This Sunday night will be the first night of Hanukkah. It’s a mighty holiday filled with misunderstanding of its origins and its place in our collective Jewish identity. Hanukkah is not a major holiday and it’s not the definition of being Jewish. Its proximity to the Christian celebration of Christmas has made it more prominent, but at its core it’s merely a minor festival not found in the Torah or even the Jewish Bible. Which leads to the misunderstanding of the origins of the holiday. There are a number of sources for the holiday known as Hanukkah. It’s found in two apocryphal books, Maccabees 1 and Maccabees 2. It’s spoken about in the Talmud and it’s spoken about in some collections of Midrashim from the time period. The last source is the History of the Jews by Flavius Josephus. All these versions of the story differ in the details, and when read together, we find a very different story from the one we grew up with in our childhood.
The hidden story of Hanukkah is that the Jewish community of Judea was being exposed to Hellenism and its polytheistic paganism. Jews wanted to incorporate Hellenism into their practices and into their ways. This desire to assimilate was embraced by some and vehemently opposed by others. The “others” in this case was a group called the Hasmoneans or the Maccabees. The two sides couldn’t work out their differences. They couldn’t find room for each other in their world views. It was this way or that way and never any sort of conversation. The demonization of the “other” led to a civil war between two groups of Jews and eventually the Greeks put down what they misconstrued as a rebellion. The Temple was profaned and damaged during all of this. After the battles had ended, the Jewish community needed to rededicate the Temple. The original Temple had been dedicated on the eight day celebration of Sukkot and thus they likely chose to rededicate (Hanukkah means dedication) by celebrating Sukkot later in the year. It’s also likely they missed the opportunity to celebrate Sukkot because of the war and the defiled state of the Temple.
So, what does all of this mean? Our biblical ancestors fought with each other and so did our ancestors during the days of the Temple. We’ve inherited this tradition and we’ve furthered it along as well. Watching the news out of Israel, we see our Israeli brothers and sisters are unable to work together and are actively tearing each other apart in the government. We watch as our Jewish community continues to be more and more polarized and less and less united in its purpose and work. We see that as a Jewish people today we continue to make the same mistakes of the past. We judge each other for not being observant enough… for not contributing to the causes we deem critical… for not being supportive enough of the State of Israel… and of course we wrongly state that Jews should belong to one political party or another.
Hanukkah is a time for us to celebrate the miracle that we were able to stop our community from assimilating, and to prevent an eternal divide that could never be healed. Hanukkah is the time to recognize we each must be dedicated to our heritage and to our future. It’s time for us to show our loyalty to Judaism as much as we’re loyal to Jewish peoplehood. As our Hanukiyot burn each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, let us each spend time reflecting on how we’re doing as a people, and as individuals. Let us each spend time finding ways to deepen our commitments to Judaism through greater observance of Jewish law, Jewish ritual and Jewish values. Let us each see that our community needs all of its voices to be heard and to sit together and to not allow pettiness to get in the way of our togetherness and collective mission. As the candles grow night after night, may we work as individuals and a community to bring more and more light to our Jewish lives.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hearshen
Candlelighting on December 16 is 5:12 pm.
BIRTHDAYS
Shabbat Layla Micah Benator
Sunday Erin Wasileski Wladimiro Pieniek
Tuesday Alan B. Cristal Martin Maslia
Wednesday Birdie Benator Levi Oppenheimer Lilly Franco Antebi
Thursday Vicki Grosswald
ANNIVERSARIES Thursday Martin and Doris Goldstein
Meldados
Shabbat Marie Lereah Sarah Entin Kahn
Sunday Claere Lavine Gabriel Nahmias
Monday Faye Behar Mitchell
Tuesday Morris Capouano Eli David Levy Wednesday Boris Yakubov Rachel Vikus
CPR and First Aid Training at OVS Tuesday, Mar 28th 10:00a to 12:00p Become certified in CPR and First Aid through this vital training course. We will cover CPR, choking, AED use, and general first aid.
Attendance is limited to 15 people.
Kids Program April 2023 Sunday, Apr 2nd 11:30a to 1:00p Our special program will include touching & learning about animals, a Passover Chametz Hunt, and hot dogs for lunch in the tent.
RSVP by Tuesday, March 28.
Backpack Buddies Volunteering Tuesday, Apr 18th 6:00p to 7:00p OVS is partnering with a Community Action program called Backpack Buddies to provide weekly meals to disadvantaged schoolchildren who have little or nothing to eat on weekends.
Want to help pick up, pack, or deliver supplies? Let us know!
