Hello, it’s
been a while
I withdrew
from the world on a walkabout for a period of time. I am back, and feel like Woody Allen in “Sleeper”
who awakens to a topsy-turvy world. In
Woody’s case, medical science finds that junk food is actually healthy
for people. In my case, the
constitutional protections of due process and separation of powers turned on
their head; a blog for another time.
Not exactly
a blog to rival Woody’s “Sleeper”. Then
again if I had his comedic talent I would not be wasting it on blogging. And yet with me, unlike with Woody, you get
my musings for free. And, as importantly
in these times, my writings are from a person who is not a known or suspected
pervert or predator.
Turning from
the profane is the heart of the Hanuka story, a holiday vastly underrated and
mischaracterized. Hanuka is considered by
most, a minor holiday inflated to ease Jewish children’s jealousies over Christian
gift giving during the Christmas season.
Nothing is further from the truth.
In reality,
the possibility of western civilization hung in the balance while the events
surrounding Hanuka played out. The spiritual
language and images used in music and art; the illumination of the interior
soul by artists, writers, and poets, all absent from the world without Hanuka. Shakespeare, Bach, Van Gough, Maya Angelou,
to name a few, never to be. Such is the
import of Hanuka.
The de-emphasis
of the historical truth of Hanuka occurred around 200 years after the events of Hanuka. A Jewish
uprising against the Roman Empire ended in a disastrous defeat. The Romans avenged the insurrection by
obliterating Israel as a nation and driving the surviving
Jews out into the diaspora.
Traumatized
by the consequences of armed insurrection, the Rabbis of the diaspora downplayed
the militaristic role in Hanuka’s history and emphasized God’s role. The Hanuka story transformed into an
apocryphal tale where God performed miracles for the faithful.
By downplaying
the armed insurrection, the reason for taking up arms was lost to the story. In actuality Hanuka was all about war -- a
civil war, a cultural war, a war to preserve ethical monotheism.
During the
time of Hanuka, Hellenism prevailed throughout the known world thanks to the conquests
of Alexander the Great. Greek philosophy
and culture focused on
understanding and perfecting the physical world. Whatever could not be measured or observed
was rejected. Greek gods reflected and
explained observable phenomenon. The sun
arced across the sky. Why? A god drove it in a chariot. The world always defined by and explained by
physical objects or concrete gods.
Jews were
not immune to the Hellenistic influence.
Many adopted the philosophy that physical perfection and physical beauty
are the true goals of human existence. Even
Israel’s high priest was a Hellenist. As
such, he brought Zeus into the Holy Temple and sacrificed a pig on the Temple’s
alter.
The
materialism of Hellenism was anathema to traditional Judaism with its emphasis
on materialism over spirituality, and belief in many gods rather than the one true universal God. Tension between the
Hellenists and traditionalists was palpable, and combustion inevitable. War sparked when a soldier of the ruling Assyrian empire attempted
to force conversion onto a charismatic local priest named Mattathias of the
house of Maccabees. Rather than
converting, he and his sons, slew the soldier and the conflagration erupted.
The
Maccabees, prevailed, beating back the Assyrian military and slaying the Hellenistic
infidels. The first act after victory was
to purify the Holy Temple and rededicate it to God. A feast lasting eight days followed. The
menorah lit on each day of the holiday. The only religion practicing ethical monotheism was saved, along with the related concepts of eternal soul; holiness; spirituality; the pure and the profane.
Ethical monotheism became the
organizing principle for western culture.
Judeo-Christian values under-girded the legal system. The biblical concept that all humanity is
created equal, all with the spark of God within, profoundly impacted the arts and led to the
democratization of society; the unshackling of slavery; and the freedom to
follow whatever path one’s talents and inclinations lead.
So on Hanuka,
as the lights of the Menorah burn outward to illuminate the darkness, I remember
what the small band of Maccabees accomplished and turn inward. Turning to the light within that illuminates my humanity and serves as my bulwark against a soulless, material world.
