8 ways to celebrate Chanukah that don’t involve gifts By Maayan Jaffe JNS.org
CHANUKAH CRAFTS
Despite Chanukah being one of the few Jewish holidays not mentioned in the Torah, it gets a lot of play—pun intended. Shmuel Arnold of Baltimore recalls how while growing up in a secular Jewish household, his parents made an extra effort to give Chanukah gifts every night. Sometimes they needed to get creative, like wrapping socks or delivering a gift from an extended family member. Without even a rendition of “Rock of Ages” around the Chanukah menorah, Arnold says the holiday had one meaning: presents. Today, however, married with three children ranging in age from 9 to 18, Arnold—like many other parents—tries to infuse more meaning into the Festival of Lights. With eight days of Chanukah coming up, here are eight ways to celebrate the holiday that don’t involve gifts:
Every year, children learn how to light the candles and about the miracle of the Maccabees in school or Hebrew school. They also make a token Chanukah menorah (or chanukiah)—likely out of clay, nuts and bolts. Fun and creative activities can help Chanukah come alive at home, too. Pinterest has a colorful variety of Chanukah crafts that work for children ranging from toddlers through high schoolers. A favorite in my house is the Chanukah handprint. Children dip their palms into a bowl of fabric paint and stamp it on a sweatshirt (it works on paper, too, but a sweatshirt is more practical). Then, they dip each of their fingers into paint to create finger candles. Finally, they take their thumb and stamp it in the middle—the shamash (worker candle). Add a flame to each candle, and you’re done! My younger kids love the feel of the gushy paint and often use
a different color for every finger candle. My oldest daughter is careful to ensure her print looks authentic. She uses the same color for the palm and the fingers and then adds perfect yellow or orange ovals on top.
CHANUKAH PARTY It might not seem so original, but Chanukah is great time for a party. Unlike other Jewish holidays that involve extra time in synagogue, or for Orthodox Jews might preclude playing music or driving, Chanukah is eight days (except for a regularly observed Shabbat) of unabashed fun. Birthday in a Box offers traditional Chanukah party tips, as well as some fun and quirky new spins on Chanukah decorations, food and favors.
CHANUKIAH TOUR If you live in a “Jewish area,” where lots of families celebrate the holiday, Arnold suggests tak-
ing a “chanukiah tour.” He says in that Baltimore or Israel (where he used to live), one can walk around the streets and see everyone’s lights in the windows. “It’s amazing. When my father was growing up he used to get beaten up for being Jewish and he learned to place the menorah on the table, somewhere hidden inside the house,” says Arnold. “When we light, we make a big deal to put it in the window and help people remember that you can be proud to be a Jew.”
DREIDEL TOURNAMENT You have a little dreidel—so use it! Pull the neighbors, young and old, together for a dreidel tournament. Break into teams of three and four and get spinning. We use candy as prizes. (It’s best to use something wrapped since it will be touched by lots of little hands.) You can purchase dreidels in bulk from Judaica.com or often at
your local synagogue’s gift shop. It adds to the excitement when you have dreidels of various sizes and colors. If you’re particularly serious about dreidel-playing, I found a website for a “Chai stakes” dreidel tournament that breaks down the “official” rules and regulations for “World Series Dreidel.” In my house, however, we seem to do better when the children are free to cry over spinning too many Hebrew-letter shins (put two antes in the center), and the prize is Hershey’s Kisses.
TALK ABOUT THE MIRACLE As Arnold’s children have gotten older, he uses the 30 minutes required to sit around the Chanukah candles as a way to discuss the miracles of the holiday and some of its more esoteric significance. “When Hashem created the world there were no stars or planets. The or—the light—was a non-physical or. That or, the light of God, is what the Yevanim (Greeks) were trying to knock out of the world,””Arnold explains. “I tell my children that we can use Hashem’s light like a soldier uses night vision goggles to see His hidden miracles, to appreciate the spiritual light.”
SHOP—FOR SOMEONE IN NEED Rebecca Katz of Overland Park, Kansas, remembers that as a child she and her family would work with a local charity to receive the names of local families in need—Jewish and non-Jewish. Then, she and her siblings would be provided those families’ holiday wish lists and go shopping for them (instead of for themselves). Once the gifts were purchased, they would hand wrap them and deliver them in person. “I remember one year, we got to this family, went upstairs and they had a tree, but it was completely empty underneath,” Katz says. “We put all the gifts there and it was so unexpected. The children were so happy.”
RE-ENACT THE CHANUKAH STORY Younger children can enjoy a game of dress-up. If you have enough kids or can get classmates involved, a re-enactment of the Chanukah story can add to the spirit of the eight days. Kids enjoy dressing up in togas (just use some old sheets) and wielding plastic swords and shields. To make it easier, use a book, such as “The Story of Chanukah” by Norma Simon, as a guide.
SUFGANIYOT Chanukah is sweeter and oilyfinger-lickin’ good with homemade sufganiyot (deep-fried jelly doughnuts). Miriam Litt of Modi’in, Israel, recalls how she used to spend hours in the kitchen baking Chanukah donuts. “I used real whipping cream and added pudding and then I would squirt it inside,” she says. Sometimes, she would get creative by mixing up the creamy flavors. “I did my thing and the kids—they sure liked eating it,” Miriam says with a laugh. 2 DECEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | HAPPY CHANUKAH
Light in dark times
Family heirloom shows true meaning of Chanukah
Left. Jeanette Eichenwald with the menorah passed down to her by her father. Right, a close up of the menorah. By Laura Rigge HAKOL Editor Jeanette Eichenwald has told the story of her family menorah many times before. She knows the details by heart and her voice never falters when she tells the tale, but despite hundreds of retellings, the impact of her story has not faded. The menorah is not the type one usually sees these days. Instead of spots for candle holders, the base holds eight small wells meant to be filled with oil, which is then lit with a wick. Made of pewter, it is heavy despite its small size. The artisan’s mark of a lion’s head is prominently displayed at the top of the base. Eichenwald isn’t sure exactly how old the menorah is, but by the time it came into the keeping of her grandfather, it was already a family heirloom. On Nov. 9, 1938, Eichenwald’s grandfather was arrested by the Nazis on a night that later became known as Kristallnacht. He was taken in part because he was president of a synagogue in Vienna, and the Nazis first arrested the leaders of the Jewish community in order to disorient the rest of the people. Her father couldn’t bear to watch his father be taken away, left to face his fate alone, so he went with him. Before they left, Eichenwald’s grandfather took the family menorah so they would be able to celebrate Chanukah, which was only a few weeks away. Both men were taken by cattle car out of Vienna to Dachau, a concentration camp outside Munich. They were put in Block 16, which also happened to house 16 other men. With Chanukah fast approaching, the men all agreed that they would try to light the menorah within the concentration camp. In order to accomplish this goal, they would need oil, a wick and a match. The wicks were the easiest to obtain—the men used the fraying fibers from the bottom of the cotton striped pajamas they wore. For oil, they used the tiny bits of fat saved from their meager portions of meat at meals. “They really needed the food to survive,” Eichenwald said. “But it was more important to them to have the oil to light.” The final piece was the match. One of the men bartered his wedding ring to a guard for matches and cigarettes, a common enough request in the camp. With all the materials they needed, they were ready for Chanukah. While the menorah is to be lit at sunset,
during times of distress, it can be lit at any time. Eichenwald’s grandfather decided to light the menorah early in the morning, when the change of shift meant there would be fewer guards. The first day they lit the menorah using their gathered supplies, letting the light burn for several minutes before hiding everything from the guards. The second day they were caught. The men were beaten severely, and a guard took the menorah. He took it outside next to the cell block where they burned the garbage, and he threw it into the flames. However, he didn’t take into account how heavy the pewter menorah was, and his aim was off. The base escaped the flames, and the oil wells landed mostly outside the fire as well. Several days later, one of the other men in Block 16 was walking outside and saw the menorah, which was miraculously saved from the flames, and he quickly buried it to hide it from the guards. Eichenwald’s grandfather died without ever seeing the menorah again. Her father survived, but he was blind for the rest of his life, partially due to the beating he sustained after lighting the menorah that first Chanukah. After the war, he and his family emigrated to the United States. Jeanette was a little girl when a package appeared at their house in Philadelphia. Inside was the family menorah. “As soon as he felt it, he knew exactly what it was,” Eichenwald said. The man who had buried the menorah in 1938 had uncovered it again before he left Dachau. He kept it for years, and he eventually made his way to Israel. Through coincidence, he was sitting in a café talking with friends about old friends in Vienna, when the topic of Eichenwald’s father came up. Someone mentioned that he was living in Philadelphia, and eventually the man was able to find his address and return the menorah to their family. Now, it stays on Eichenwald’s mantle, a priceless family heirloom and a symbol of remarkable resolve in the face of evil. “It lived to see such agony and such pain, but its true meaning is light,” Eichenwald said. “The true meaning of Chanukah is religious freedom, to always stand up against evil.” Every year she takes the menorah to the class she teaches at the JCC and lights the menorah, just for a moment. While the pewter has been bent, the power of its story remains unbroken. HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2015 3
TBE prepares for ChanuCan 2015 GREEN CHANUKAH:
oil-conservation miracle inspires environmentalism By Robert Gluck JNS.org
By Shari Spark Temple Beth El The community problem of hunger is one that confronts many in our community and it is our Jewish responsibility to respond by giving to those in need. ChanuCan premiered in December 2011 with a resounding number of volunteers, fantastic donations of dollars and handson educational opportunities, not only for our religious school students, but for all of us at
Temple Beth El. It is with pride for what we did, and excitement for what can still do, that we launch ChanuCan 2015! ChanuCan aims to raise food and awareness, to teach our children through experiential opportunities and to involve the entire congregation in a necessary and worthwhile mission. Through generous donations, we are able to purchase food for the artistic can-building portion of our program. These
cans and non-perishable food items are then donated to local food banks; once again we are partnering with Second Harvest and Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley. From Dec. 6 to 13, volunteers will use these cans to create structures and sculptures that will be available for the public to see out our Grand Finale Party on Dec. 13. To learn more, contact Shari Spark at shari@bethelallentown.org or call 610-435-3521.
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The miracle of Chanukah is an epic story of conservation, as one day’s worth of oil lasts for eight days in the Jewish Temple. Now, in some circles, energy conservation and energy independence are increasing hallmarks of modern-day Chanukah. One of the first organizations to emphasize this concept was the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL), a leading American Jewish environmental group and a program of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. COEJL asked its members to consider ecological concerns alongside the role of enjoyment and aesthetics. “We had a light-bulb campaign to get folks to change their bulbs to CFLs (compact fluorescent light),” Jared Feldman, COEJL’s vice president and Washington, D.C., director, tells JNS.org. “We came up with the idea of Chanukah as both a holiday of liberation, but also a holiday of resource scarcity. We built off the idea of the limited amount of oil for eight days and how conservation plays in.” In what specific ways can Jews celebrate a green Chanukah? Krantz suggests taking on a new environmental commit-
SIX POINTS KOSHER EVENTS
ment for each day of the holiday: On the first day, change incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent or better yet, LED bulbs; on the second day, commit to wearing sweaters in the winter instead of turning up the heat; on the third day, plan a garden for the spring; on the fourth day, make a donation to an environmental organization; on the fifth day, disinvest your stock portfolio from fossil-fuel stocks and invest in renewable energy instead; on the sixth day, contact your collegiate alma mater, your synagogue, your local Jewish federation, and other institutions to ask them to follow your example of disinvestment and reinvestment; on the seventh day, commit to eating less meat, which is the largest contributor of greenhouse gases; on the eighth day, call your local member of Congress to advocate for climate-smart policies. Krantz recommends additional measures that he calls “low-hanging fruit”: unplug appliances and chargers when they aren’t in use; turn off lights when you leave the room; use fans instead of air conditioning when possible; walk or take public transit instead of driving when possible; and use timers rather than leaving lights on for the duration of Shabbat and Yom Tov.
Celebrating Chanukah
This December, families and friends will gather across the Lehigh Valley to celebrate Chanukah. Wheth
The Sams family celebrates Chanukah together at home.
Teachers from Yoav join in on the festivities at the Jewish Day School’s 2014 Chanukah celebration.
Rabbi David Wilensky leads the group at the Jewish Day School. Above left. Sara-Jane Bub and her sons enjoy a menorah making contest. Above right, Rabbi Melody Davis celebrates Chanukah at sea.
A Lego menorah spotted at the JCC Chaunkah celebration. 6 DECEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | HAPPY CHANUKAH
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms celebrate Chanukah with a menorah made of ice.
h in the Lehigh Valley
her you break out the dreidel or chow down on sufganiyot, there are many different ways to celebrate!
Lafayette College Hillel students gather together to light the menorah.
Members of Congregation Am Haskalah light the menorah together.
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At Chanukah, how do we kindle the lights within ourselves?
By Dasee Berkowitz Jewish Telegraphic Agency There is nothing cuter than my 5 year old daughter coming home from kindergarten with an overly decorated menorah in hand singing “Ner li Ner li, ner li dakik,” the Israeli version of “This Little Light of Mine.” The song speaks about the little candle, so thin, small and all hers to light. Personalizing the holiday for kids is just good pedagogy. Through song, play and creative arts, early childhood educators get these little Maccabees to embody the holiday and feel they have the power to create and even embody the light of Chanukah. And then they grow up. They learn more details about the Chanukah story. They study the Mac-
cabees and the civil war between the Jews. They analyze the military battles that the Hasmoneans conducted to achieve victory over the Assyrian Greeks. And they also learn about the ultimate corruption and failure of the Hasmonean dynasty itself. As they grow, they move further away from the simple message of Chanukah that they had claimed as children: to bring light to dark places. The contrast between the narrative about light that children learn in elementary school and the parallel one about the story of the Maccabean revolt that they learn more about as they get older is not just a developmental one; it’s a profound statement about how we view the world. Stories about war that can provide a sense of unity and purpose are ultimately draining,
8 DECEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | HAPPY CHANUKAH
whereas ones about light and miracles are constantly renewing. Experiencing an ongoing war is grueling. Living in Jerusalem right now, I know that feeling intimately. Waves of terrorism, fear, uncertainty and distrust rise and then (eventually) fall. And citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, are left wondering what the future will hold, without any clarity that the once-touted promise to live with “peace and security” will return. It’s hard to dream big or even to believe in miracles at a time of ongoing war. You live for the day, and then the day after. That is the mentality of war. A story of light and oil that lasted only for eight days is one of vision and hope. The rabbis of the Talmud picked up on the distinction. They spent so many more pages expounding upon the miracle of the oil, recounting the details of when and how to light the Chanukah menorah and only a few lines about the military victory achieved by the Maccabeans. Focusing on the light was tactical. The rabbis didn’t want the legacy of Chanukah to be about a victory won by human hands in which God was absent. They wanted to elevate the victory of Chanukah to the heavenly realm. This is a celebration of miracles and God’s hand in history, not the brute force of the determined few, the rabbis would have said. The rabbinic approach is most telling in the haftarah they selected for the Shabbat of Chanukah, which include the words from Zechariah, “Not by might, and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.” And now, living where I do, I un-
derstand the importance and wisdom of the rabbinic emphasis. Focusing on the miracle of the oil helps us put our faith in something bigger than ourselves. It gives us hope to look beyond the political machinations of the day to what the future could look like. It helps us break free of the neverending cycle of violence and cynicism and can enable us to look forward to the possibilities that the “light driven” narrative can offer to our children and beyond. The rabbis wanted to ensure that a political victory, however needed at the time, wasn’t the end of the story. They wanted to ensure that we didn’t worship our own political might and are guided by a greater power. The Chanukah of the rabbis relies on the personal and embodied light that my 5-year-old sings about. There is a beautiful idea from the Book of Proverbs that we each contain within ourselves a light, “The life breath (the soul) of a human is the lamp of God. With it, God searches all the hidden chambers.” (Proverbs 20:27) Our internal light is God’s light within us, searching out every part of us, revealing in the hidden places our abilities to manifest that light outward. This Chanukah, how can we return to the pure idea of our own personal lights, or “ner li,” as my daughter would croon. Not only the one I hold in my hand to light the Chanukah menorah, but the one that I have within me to shine light into dark, seemingly unmovable or unchangeable places around us? Dasee Berkowitz is a Jewish educational consultant and writer living in Jerusalem.
Celebrating Chanukah differently By Sandi Teplitz Special to HAKOL Did you ever wonder what it would be like to have Chanukah roll around and not be concerned about gift-giving? Eduardo Eichenwald hails from Colombia, where there was no Christmas influence, as in the United States. His family was happy to sing traditional songs, light candles and eat Berliners -- doughnuts filled with jelly, then deep fried. Inna and Gene Tseytlin are natives of Minsk, Belarus, where Chanukah was not even recognized as a holiday. They left that country for freedom in the U.S., moved to Great Neck, Long Island in 1989 with their two children, and were amazed by the beauty of the festival of lights. Sharone Vaknin lived in Israel before coming to Allentown; he grew up eating Sufganyot, instead of Chanukah cookies. No presents were exchanged, but family celebrated candle lighting rituals as in America. Linda Weiner, a convert to Judaism, felt that the holiday was special to her when she celebrated for the first time as an adult. She and her daughters made decorations together, hanging symbols of the holiday around her home in Maine; these included Menorahs, stars of David and Chinese lanterns with Hebrew lettering. She imbued in her daughters the feeling of goodness that a person gets when giving rather than receiving. Valeska Zighelboim is from Venezuela, where it is warm and sunny in December. She lit a chanukiah; it was not called a menorah, and spun a S’vivon rather than a “dreidel.” Money was given rather than presents. If you still would like to make cookies this year but want to make some non-traditional but delicious ones, try these vegan Peruvian Chanukah chocolate chip cookies.
Peruvian Chanukah chocolate chip cookies INGREDIENTS: 2 c. flour mixed with 1 T. quinoa 1/2 c. sugar 1 t. baking powder 1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar 3/4 t. baking soda 1/2 c. + 1 T. corn oil 1/2 t. salt 1/4 c. + 1 T. water 1 1/4 c. dark chocolate, coarsely cut up flaky sea salt TECHNIQUE: Mix first four ingredients together in a bowl. Add chocolate to the mixture to coat. In a mixing bowl, add sugars to the oil and water. Mix lightly with flour mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 hours.
Cool and serve. Delicious with chocolate ice cream.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency These corned beef hashinspired latkes work best with thinly shredded corned beef. If you can purchase a hunk of corned beef, as opposed to sliced, that would be ideal. If not, make sure to heat up the corned beef before shredding it or dicing into very, very tiny cubes. But don’t skimp on the salt in these latkes just because you think the meat will be salty – the potatoes still need salt to make these latkes most flavorful. Yield: 12-15 latkes
DIRECTIONS: Peel and cut potatoes and onions in half. Peel garlic cloves. Place potatoes, onion and garlic through food processor for a coarse grate (you can also grate by hand).
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CORNED BEEF HASH LATKES WITH FRIED EGGS
INGREDIENTS: 4 Idaho (Russet) potatoes 1 small-medium onion 2 eggs 2 to 3 tablespoons flour 2 teaspoons salt Shredded corned beef Additional salt Additional eggs Fresh parsley Vegetable oil for frying
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Place potato mixture to a large bowl. Add eggs, flour, salt and shredded (or diced) corned beef. Heat vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Form large, fist-sized mounds of latkes, taking care not to squeeze too much liquid out of the latkes. Fry until golden brown on each side, then place on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet to cool. Immediately sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Fry or poach eggs to your liking. When ready to serve, place latkes on platter and top with fried or poached eggs. Top with chopped fresh parsley.
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HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2015 9
Chanukah menorahs of Israel shed light on Jewish people’s past, present, future By Deborah Fineblum Schabb JNS.org
As winter arrives and the days grow shorter, outdoor lighting is needed more during the Chanukah season than at any other time of year. This need is taken particularly seriously in Israel, where outdoor menorahs make a nocturnal stroll through city streets a treat for the eyes— and for the spirit. The outdoor Chanukah menorah was one Israeli tradition that painters Israel Hershberg and Yael Scalia Hershberg embraced when they made aliyah from Baltimore more than three decades ago. Each year, they place nine shot glasses filled with olive oil (and each topped with a wick) in a simple box fashioned of brass and tin. The box has glass windows and little chimneys. “It’s something of a Yerushalmi (Jerusalemite) artifact since it seems they don’t make them anymore,” Yael says of the box, which was purchased from a craftsman in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim. “It’s very old world, and in its authenticity and its simplicity it has real charm.” The term menorah itself can be cause for confusion, even in Israel. The one used thousands of years ago in the Jewish
Temple, which was adopted as a symbol of the nascent state of Israel, has seven branches. But the Chanukah menorah has nine branches—one for each day the scarce oil burned in the reclaimed temple more than 2,000 years ago, as well as a “shamash” to light the rest of the candles and stand guard over them as they burn. In an effort to stem the confusion, in the late 1800s Eliezer ben Yehuda, the father of the modern Hebrew language, coined the term “chanukiah,” which is how today’s Israelis tend to refer to Chanukah menorahs. But not all chanukiahs are outdoor affairs. Many of the 70-plus chanukiahs in the home of Tel Aviv collector Bill Gross and his wife Lisa are just too gorgeous—and too valuable—to expose to the elements. Gross, however, is intent on “seeing them returned to their original use,” which is why he uses a different chanukiah each year. The rotation includes the 1950 Israeli specimen he used growing up in Minneapolis. “I believe that as soon as you look at them as art objects, it rips them up by their roots. These are objects made for performing a mitzvah and it’s only right to let them do that,” he says. Old chanukiahs also serve as a reminder of those years when the act of lighting them was a risky undertaking. One chanukiah, dating back to pre-World War II times, is on display in the Holocaust History Museum at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem, where visitors can find it in the section dealing with the Nazi rise to power. Every year, members of the family who donated it—the Mansbachs—take it home to Haifa to light it for the holiday. “The thousands of personal items in Yad Vashem’s collections help us connect with the experience of Jewish men, women, and children during
10 DECEMBER 2015 | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | HAPPY CHANUKAH
the Shoah,” says Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev. Member of Knesset Rabbi Dov Lipman (Yesh Atid) and his family also use a chanukiah that reminds them of this dark time in Jewish history—a replica of one constructed of nails in a concentration camp. “It was a gift for my bar mitzvah,” says Lipman, a Maryland native who now lives in Beit Shemesh. “As a people we have always used any means at our disposal to survive and to stay strong, and every year when we light this chanukiah we and our children are reminded of that.” But not all menorahs have survived tough times. Many, like the one Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky used in a Soviet internment camp 34 years ago, remain only in the memory of those touched by their light. Back in 1980, Sharansky was one of a group of political prisoners and the only Jew. “But when I told them Chanukah was coming, everyone was very enthusiastic,” he says. One friend who worked in the wood shop fashioned a crude menorah of pressed wood from a box for Sharansky. He lit in the barracks on the first night of Chanukah and on several subsequent nights, until a KGB collaborator turned him in and the menorah was confiscated. “The head of the camp called me in and told me, ‘This is not a synagogue; you were brought here for punishment, not for praying,’” recalls Sharansky, who promptly embarked on a hunger strike. The hunger strike made the camp leaders nervous because a commission from Moscow was expected to arrive shortly. On the last night of Chanukah, Sharansky told the head of the camp, “You want me to stop the hunger strike? You give me back my menorah and bring me nine candles. I’ll say the prayers and you say, ‘Amen.’” Which is exactly what hap-
Above, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, cofounder and executive director of the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah agency, lights his Chanukah menorah. Left, one of the 70-plus chanukiahs amassed by Tel Aviv collector Bill Gross.
pened. “I prayed the day would come when we will celebrate our freedom in Jerusalem and that all our enemies will hear our prayer and say, ‘Amen,’” says Sharansky. Since the prayer was in Hebrew, the head of the camp didn’t understand a word but just kept saying “Amen.” The next day, after the commission had come and gone, Sharansky was sent back to the camp’s prison. The light from all the menorahs throughout time continues to shine down through Jewish history, says Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi in charge of the Western Wall and other Israeli holy sites. Every year, after lighting the official Western Wall chanukiah, Rabinowitz returns home to light the small silver one his in-laws gave him for his wedding 25 years ago. “A little bit of light takes away all the darkness,” the rabbi says through a translator. “And this year, more than ever, we need the light. As a people we need to be united and together, with no fighting or disagreement. We Jews need to connect through this light to the spirit of Chanukah and to each other.” Rabinowitz adds, “At a time of so much darkness, we need to
also connect to the power of our Jewish tradition. The light has the power to bring us back to it and to unify us.” The chanukiah at the home of Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-founder and executive director of the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah agency, came with his wife Batsheva’s grandfather all the way to America from Germany, where he purchased it after the war. “He had lost everything but gathered whatever he could to buy a semblance of Judaism which for him was a sign of rebuilding and hope,” says Fass. “And now that it has been passed down to the fourth generation in our family, it also reminds us that Jewish history is still being written and Israel is the homeland for tomorrow’s generations of our people.” “Each night when we add a candle and the light grows steadily stronger, we realize once again the importance of being here in Israel, the only place in the world that is truly ours,” Fass adds. “Like the miracle of Chanukah, this mini miracle of our ability to return home to Israel is something that we want to publicize to the entire Jewish world.”
How American Jews made Chanukah the holiday of religious freedom
U.S. Navy personnel light Chanukah candles. By Noam Zion JNS.org In the 21st century, Chanukah is celebrated by more Jews than any holiday other than Passover. Both are performed at least one night a year by almost 90 percent of American Jews, more than the number who observed Chanukah in the 1930s. The sociological reason is surely related the competition with a commercialized, publicly observed Christmas and holiday season. Yet Jews could have also adopted a secularized Christmas, as many German Jews did in the 19th century and early 20th century. If social pressure and a desire to be like everyone else and make sure children are not left out were the only reasons, then one need not enhance a separate Jewish holiday that highlights the very difference that makes many American Jews uncomfortable. There was also counter-pressure to assert one’s ethnic and religious identity against the majority. Thus, whatever the social reasons for Chanukah, Jewish educators developed an ideological rationale that became very popular. Reform and Conservative Jews led the way in this Americanization of Chanukah, not only by inventing the custom of giving eight gifts, one per night, and using colored candles, unknown beyond its shores, but also by reshaping the message of the menorah’s light to fit the American Jewish predicament. The Reform reinvention was striking, because there are elements in Chanukah that could be difficult for classical Reform Jews to adopt. For the Maccabees, Chanukah is celebrated as the rededication of the altar desecrated by the Greek Syrians who sacrificed pigs on that altar to Zeus, but Reform Jews do not pray to return to sacrifices and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabees fought to achieve political independence for a separate Jewish nation in the Jewish homeland by trying to expel Western culture (Hellenism) by acts of military heroism. But classical Reform Judaism was non-nationalist, anti-Zionist, pacifist in orientation, and committed to integration within Western civilization in their own lands. Mattathias killed a Jew who publicly worshipped Zeus when Antiochus’s men came to enlist supporters, and Judah the Maccabee forcibly circumcised Jewish babies when their parents wanted to be more Hellenized or were simply afraid of reprisals by the Greek Syrians. In contrast, freedom of conscience, faith in God, loyalty to the state, and an ethics of peace and reason have been central Reform values. Thus, it should not be surprising that Isaac M. Wise, who introduced Reform Judaism in
the United States, suggested in 1865 the elimination of the Chanukah lights. But six years later, the Augsburg Synod, with delegates mostly from German Reform congregations, introduced a resolution urging the appropriate commemoration of Chanukah, which had been neglected in many Reform Jewish congregations and schools. The rationale for this resolution was to counteract the celebration of Christmas by many Jewish families “in direct opposition to Jewish consciousness.” One hundred and fifty years later, American Jews continue to give great significance to Chanukah as a counterweight to Christmas. But they have also made Chanukah a major symbol of America Jewish values. A 1971 Reform curriculum for children written by Harry Gersh said Chanukah was “the first for the right of a people within a country to believe as they wish—so long as they followed the king’s law in worldly matters. For thousands of years, Jews have lived under kings, princes, dukes, caliphs, governors, presidents. And they have always been loyal to these rulers—so long as they were permitted to practice their own religion. This idea of religious freedom is followed in all free nations today. It was first given to the world by the Jews.” The battle of the Maccabees against the religious and political coercion of Antiochus was a battle for collective religious, hence national political freedom, but not for individual freedom of conscience as such. Yet the Reform interpretation is certainly as valid as any rabbinic reading of the past, and it makes Chanukah central to the American Jewish concern for maintaining its difference within a democratic land. Reform Jews have become, at least since the Holocaust, strong supporters of Zionism. And so nowadays, Chanukah can also represent for them, as it does for Israelis, a war of independence and a model for the virtue of military courage in a just war. Still, some liberal Reform Jews, especially during the protests against the War in Vietnam, have felt ambivalent about militant nationalism. But I think it is still true to say that liberal American Jews hold that Chanukah candles represent a value that they are proud to propagate in the public sphere: the banner of religious freedom for every individual. This is the central value for American liberal Jews and for liberal Americans, and that bridges the tension between Jewish and American identity, so the Jews need not feel so uncomfortable with being different. This rationale is as important as the eight presents.
Gift Card 4x4 Hakol_2015_Gift Card 4x4 Hakol.qxd 10/7/2015 1:53 PM Page 1
Makes A Great Hanukkah Gift! Gift C e r t a e h T State
ard
w No expiration date w Good for ticket purchases to State Theatre produced shows* w Order online, by phone or in person 453 Northampton St., Easton, PA . 610-252-3132 . 1-800-999-STATE . Order online www.statetheatre.org * Not valid on Outside Promoter Events.
Noam Zion is a Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute and author of “A Different Light: The Chanukah Book Celebration.” HAPPY CHANUKAH | HAKOL LEHIGH VALLEY | DECEMBER 2015 11
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