Opinion
No matter why you celebrate Chanukah, there's one thing we have in common
There's something which unites all of us when we light those candles
December 7, 2018 13:43
1 min read
There's something which unites all of us when we light those candles
December 7, 2018 13:43Chanukah is here, which means that once again, it’s time for that famous annual tradition – Jews writing about what Chanukah truly means.
So far this year, I have seen the tried and tested “triumph of light over darkness” articles, the “reaffirmation of Jewish sovereignty in the region” reminders, and the “this festival is problematic because it celebrates the victory of religious zealotry over enlightenment” pieces.
And the less said about the increasingly popular “Chanukah is only a big thing because American Jews saw it as an answer to Christmas”, the better.
But one of the reasons that Chanukah excites this much discussion is because it is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish festivals.
Recent polling shows that in Israel, over 90 percent of Jews take part in a candle-lighting ceremony at least once during the holiday. Elsewhere, even Jews who observe relatively little will proudly post tastefully filtered Instagram pictures of their Menorahs.
One of the main reasons, I suspect, is that it’s a festival that doesn’t require a huge amount of its participants. There are no extreme restrictions on our activities, no strictly mandated diet we have to keep to. It’s just us, some lights, and possibly a dreidel and some doughnuts and latkes. It’s easy. Plus it’s an excuse to eat doughnuts and latkes.
But I think there’s something else at play here, whether everyone taking part in it recognises it or not. Chanukah is one of the few holidays where Jews are actively encouraged (and have been for centuries) to perform Pirsum HaNes – the publicising of the miracle. We are supposed to share it, with Jew and non-Jew alike, in a way which is not mandated for other festivals. And by and large, we do exactly that.
I also don’t think that the significance of the story itself should be discounted. Until 1948, the Chanukah story was seen as the last time – in more than two millenia – when the Jewish people had had military success, and against a much more powerful enemy.
Even if you’re not a Zionist Jew, you cannot deny that for centuries Chanukah was a reminder that the Jewish people hadn’t always been at the mercy of others. We had taken our destiny into our own hands, had fought for what was ours against overwhelming odds, and had won.
So, light your Chanukkiah for whatever reason. But if there’s one thing that lighting those candles does, it shows that we, whatever our politics or religious level, are here as Jews, proudly and openly.
That’s not always an option which has been open to us in the past; and now that it is, we’re right not let that opportunity pass us by. That’s what Chanukah means to me – and I wish you all a joyful one.
