Hanukkah

Hanukkah may be a minor festival, but the new geyr may find the festival attractive. For one thing, there is only one mitzvah and it is a simple one to manage. All you have to do is acquire or make a Hanukkah menorah, say the Hebrew blessing, and light the appropriate lamp (or candles) on each night. For another, the festival provides a welcome respite from the Christmas season. While religious commentators rightly warn against turning Hanukkah into a "Jewish Christmas' with disturbing parallelisms like "Hanukkah bushes" and the "Hanukkah Harry" who brings a budget-busting bag of gifts, one cannot escape the reality of the galut. While Hanukkah in Israel can be a real celebration of the freedom to celebrate Torah Judaism on the land, it is totally different in the galut. Here we are still "in the problem," closer in a way to the situation faced by the Maccabees trying to survive amidst Hellenist culture. I live neighborhood where almost every house is covered in gaudy Christmas decorations. I cannot get to the bank during lunch-time because there is a traffic jam caused by shoppers trying to get to the mall. My co-workers string Christmas decorations all over the office and want to wish me a Merry Christmas, whether I want it or not. My relatives insist on sending me Christmas cards. Because my wife does not share my religious convictions, I cannot even escape into my own home. And so when I say my blessing at the Hanukkah menorah, it is not so hard to think about the Maccabees and the struggle they went through to remain faithful to Torah. I light my lamp with the conviction that somehow, in the midst of all this paganism, HaShem will provide me with enough energy to get through one more day. It is enough. -- KENNETH GUENTERT

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