This week's portion from which I am about to stray is
Mikeitz, which talks about Pharoh's dreams, Joseph's interpretations, and
Joseph's encounters with and tricks played on his estranged brothers during the
years of the famine.
Instead, I'd like to talk about Chanukah, one of the few
Jewish holidays not mentioned in the Torah.
Let's set the scene.
It's 168 B.C.E., and the Jews are living a Hellenistic lifestyle and for
the most part enjoying it. They are
assimilated in their culture
- their dress, their language... and are allowed their
religious freedom. It seems to me that
they were not unlike us actually.
Then evil Antiochus comes into the picture, and by 167
B.C.E. he is imposing great restrictions on the Jews, making them sacrifice
pigs on their altars and other injustices.
The story of what happens next we all know - the
Macabees, Judah at the helm, led a revolt against the oppression and
succeeded. It was a 3- year, bloody
campaign, that culminated in the rededication of the Temple.
They decided that since they had not been able to
celebrate Sukkot earlier that autumn, they would do so at that time, which was
winter, this time of year.
Chanukah means rededication.
Then at some other point in history it seems that someone
decided that the story of Hanukah was too worldly - it was after all, a story
about men who felt that they had a right to determine their own destiny and
fought for their beliefs and their freedom.
But God had to have something to do with it. Right?
So in the midst of this
8 night celebration, it seems the story of the oil lamp
was added in.
Somehow one night's allotment of oil lasted 8 - a
miracle. Surely God must have had a hand
in that?
Chanukah - the festival of lights. Finding light where there should have been
only darkness.
Chanukah - rededication.
Chanukah - the Jewish version of Christmas?
No... Though the
irony of this being a story of people refusing to assimilate, and this being
probably one of the most assimilated holidays is not lost on me. Especially as I grew up my entire life until
the age of 30 celebrating Christmas with my non-Jewish family and now having to
explain, every year, the differences between Hanukah and Christmas. I am not even going to get into that
here. My family, as warm, loving and
totally accepting as they truly are, still doesn't get what Hanukah is about, or that it is not
supposed to be about giving gifts. As a
parent, I am already falling into the trap of finding Hanukah gifts for my
little ones, because I want to get into the spirit of this gift-giving season.
This Hanukah though I am thinking about
rededication. Finding light in the
darkness. I am not talking tonight about
finding ways to solve the world's injustices, though I wish I could. But what this notion means to me. Rededication.
I wish to rededicate my life to myself, my children, my husband. Like the Jews in Hellenistic times I have
become a slave to what I think is expected of me. In addition to being a full-time parent to 2
infants, I work part-time, volunteer a lot, and feel that with 2.5 years of
intense sleep deprivation, my own oil lamp is burning out.
But somehow it never extinguishes. I realize that this is because it is constantly
being fed from the outside. My
children's smiles, hugs, watching them master a new skill - my toddler
repeating back to me words of encouragement like "It's ok mom, you happy! you doing great!", my husband holding my
hand, my community, all of you, making me feel that my contributions are worth
something... That is my personal
miracle.
So this Hanukah it is my wish that all of you take some
time to think about this notion of rededication and finding light in the
darkness.
Thank you for being part of my miracle.
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