Hanukkah set of wood Dreidels. Courtesy image
By DAVID IZRAELEVITZ
Los Alamos
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah began this past Sunday night, following the Jewish tradition that all holidays begin in the evening and continues the next eight days. It celebrates the successful revolt by rebels against a Syrian Greek monarchy around 165 BCE that was imposing Hellenistic culture on the Jewish people, including prohibiting the traditional practice of daily sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. When the rebels led by Judas Maccabee (or Judas “The Hammer”) succeeded in recapturing Jerusalem, a new monarchy was established that rededicated the Temple and reinstituted traditional practices. Some argue that this rebellion is the first instance of a war for religious freedom.
The holiday is celebrated each night by lighting a (“Shamash,” literally “helper”) candle, and then lighting successively one, two, etc. until on the last night of Hanukkah nine candles are lit to celebrate the conclusion of the holiday. It is traditional for children to get a few coins each night, but with the proximity to Christmas, this relatively minor holiday in the Jewish calendar has grown to be an occasion for Jewish children to receive a new present each night, even if sometimes the gift for the third or fifth night is an underwhelming new pair of pants or socks. In households with an European heritage, children play a “dreidel” game, a four-side top with Hebrew letters on each side, and depending on how the top finally stops, the spinner may or may not win the accumulated pot. If the dreidel shows the letter “Nun” it means you get nothing, “Gimel” means you win the whole accumulated pot, “Hay” means you get half the pot, and “Shin” means you add a coin (or bean) to the pot.
The traditional view is that we also celebrate a miraculous occurrence at the time of the rebellion. When the Temple was reconquered and the Temple Menorah was relit, there was enough consecrated oil for only one day; however, the oil unexpectedly lasted eight days, enough time for more oil to be produced.
The above is what I learned as a child, but , like the second act of the Sondheim musical “Into The Woods,” the rest of the story is where Hanukkah gets complicated.
The war of liberation was more like a civil war between Hellenized Jews and those who wanted retention of traditional practices. The resulting Hasmonean monarchy was chaotic and cruel, with further civil war, forced conversions to and from Judaism, and accommodation between the semi-autonomous Hasmonean monarchy and their Greek overlords in order to remain in power. Maybe because it doesn’t put Jews in very good light, the Book of Maccabees is not part of the Jewish canon, although paradoxically, it is part of several Christian canons.
Nowhere is the miracle of Hanukkah mentioned in the Book of Macabees; this tradition was apparently introduced by Rabbis around 150 C.E., several hundred years after the fact. The actual origin of the eight days of Hanukkah is most likely an event that is mentioned in Maccabees, the delayed celebration of the Feast of Booths, one of the three major pilgrimage holidays in ancient times that was suspended due to the rebellion. Even the beloved game of Dreidl is based on a similar game (trendel) that was played by German children at Christmastime, and the Hebrew letters on the dreidl are a direct transliteration of the letters on the trendel top.
That’s a downer, isn’t it?
However, like “Into The Woods,” even this second act has a lesson for us. Traditions are the means by which we add meaning and message to our observance. Whether or not the Hanukkah lights celebrate a miracle, the ceremony of lighting and singing prayers is for many Jewish homes, a simple moment of family togetherness. Just like whether or not a Christmas Tree is a repurposed pagan ceremony, it is nevertheless the focus of friendship, generosity and gratitude, and family continuity in many Christian homes.
Religion, at its highest aspirations, is a path by which we reach our better selves, and if we need stories and symbols to get us there, well, that is why we are imperfect and limited human beings. After all, is it that important to believe that Moses literally parted the Red Sea, or to believe Isaiah’s words, “to share your bread with the hungry, to take the wretched poor into your home; When you see the naked, to clothe him,” even if Isaiah did not actually say them?
Maybe most important, in the midst of traditional songs, gift-giving, and favorite recipes, is to remember the lyrics that Stephen Sondheim, that modern day Isaiah, wrote for in his beautiful conclusion to “Into The Woods.” Words appropriate not just during family holidays, but year-round:
“Careful the things you say, Children will listen, Careful the things you do, Children will see and learn…Careful the tale you tell, That is the spell, Children will listen…”