3 minute read
Rabbi Daniel Dorsch
Minor Holiday Attains Major Status
BY RABBI DANIEL DORSCH
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Hanukkah, which is a holiday that can be spelled any number of ways (none of them more correct than any other), means “dedicated on 25th” day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. It commemorates the Hasmoneans, also called the Maccabees, and their successful war for religious freedom, in which they succeeded in banishing the Greeks from their occupation of Jerusalem and its Holy Temple. Many ritually observant Jews deem Hanukkah to be a minor holiday. This is not due to its lack of adherents, but because the story of Hanukkah occurred too late chronologically to make it into the Hebrew Bible. As a result, while the holiday is celebrated widely, traditional Jewish restrictions that take place on holidays like Rosh Hashanah or Passover (cessation from labor, large festival meals, etc.), do not apply to Hanukkah. Further contributing to its minor status is that our rabbis grew troubled that the holiday overemphasized the Maccabees’ military prowess at the expense of God’s role in the story. It largely was out of these concerns that our sages in the Talmud fabricated the now popular story about the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days and nights. Given its widespread use today, it’s safe to argue that they succeeded in adding an important spiritual dimension to the holiday. Ironically, for its emphasis on our freedom to practice as Jews, Hanukkah’s traditional timing opposite Christmas in December sometimes can create a great deal of ambivalence for Jewish families about how best to observe the holiday.
Like all American holidays, Hanukkah now has grown very commercial. Walking through stores and seeing a Hanukkah display opposite the Christmas one is terrific, in that my own children feel validated in their religious practice. However, it also begs the question: To what extent, have we allowed a holiday that celebrates the uniqueness of Judaism to become like everything else?
American Jewish families observe Hanukkah with traditional Jewish rituals, like lighting candles and playing dreidel (a spinning top). However, they also may choose to give their children presents on Hanukkah or seasonally decorate their homes. The Elf on the Shelf has made room for the wildly adorable Mensch on the Bench. I’ve heard of some families going so far to put up a “Hanukkah bush.” Hanukkah may be a minor holiday for ritually observant Jews, but there is little question that, given its popularity in our country, it has attained a major status. For Americans, its powerful theme of celebrating religious freedom and observance is one that continues to resonate with all of us. The question that none of us may yet answer is what that observance will look like generations into the future.
Rabbi Dan Dorsch serves Congregation Etz Chaim in Marietta. He is a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary, and holds a master’s degree in synagogue education.
PHOTOS BY BROOKE VANDE ZANDE
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