Download The Real Miracle of Hanukkah - Mizel Jewish Community Day School

The Real Miracle
of Hanukkah
by Lillian Hellman, Executive Director,
Mizel Jewish Community Day School
I
overlooked that Hanukkah is a holiday which commemorates
the military victory of the Maccabees
over the Selucide Greeks who, in 168
BCE, desecrated the Temple and tried to
force the Jews to forsake their traditional
religious practices. The goal of King Antiochus was to assimilate the Jews and
remove all of the unique features of Judaism. The religious persecution that
accompanied the forced Hellenization
(the adoption of Greek culture) of Judaism
inspired Judah Maccabee and his followers to rise up against the state. The war
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J EW I SHTU L S A.ORG
that followed was history’s first recorded
fight for religious freedom.
The Maccabees were part of the Hellenistic culture in which they lived. Judaism
in ancient times, like Judaism today, did
not exist in a vacuum; Jews took on Greek
names, followed Greek laws and melded
Greek culture into Jewish culture. The
Maccabees did not fight against Hellenism
per se; instead, they fought against a Hellenism that required a total abandonment of
Judaism. It was this type of Hellenization
and religious repression that the Maccabees rebelled against.
It is a well-established fact that Jews,
during the Maccabean period, assimilated Greek culture into Jewish culture. To
quote Rabbi William Gershon of Shearith
Israel, Dallas: “In every age, Judaism was
able to survive as a living, vibrant culture
precisely because of its ability to translate
its culture into a modern idiom … Judaism
was always able to undergo a considerable amount of assimilation. It was this
ability to re-adapt and re-orient Judaism
to new situations while retaining a basic
inner core of continuity and authenticity
that was largely responsible, if not for the
survival of Judaism, at least for its vitality.”
But how far can we assimilate from
Judaism and how much can we absorb
American culture without giving up our
Jewish identity? These questions surface
every year at Hanukkah and Christmastime, when we are inundated with all
things Christmas. Often Jewish parents
elevate Hanukkah’s importance to provide
a counterbalance to Christmas, while
others downplay the Jewish
festival to prevent it from
becoming “the Jewish Christmas.”
But Hanukkah is a minor event
in the Jewish holiday cycle, and
has never, until recently, been
considered a central celebration for the Jewish people.
Our customs and ceremonies
cannot compare with those of
Christmas, which in contrast is
a major Christian holiday.
As Dr. Ron Wolfson, a leading
American Jewish family educator
writes: “Most Jews are comfortable in North American society.
The great promise of religious
freedom has indeed created the
diversity of culture that characterizes the free world. When
we live side by side with other
people of other religions, we
must respect and appreciate
their customs … and traditions … There is nothing wrong
with enjoying the beauty of
someone else’s celebration …
But appreciation does not mean
appropriation.”
The message of Hanukkah
teaches us to never allow
ourselves to assimilate to the
point where our Jewish identity is
unrecognizable. At Mizel Jewish
Community Day School, we
teach our students what it means
to be a part of both the secular
and Jewish world. We embrace
American and Jewish culture. We
teach and live Jewish values all
year long. Mizel students who
dance with the Torah on Simchat
Torah or participate in a Purim
play will not miss participating
in a Christmas pageant. Students
who have experienced building a
sukkah, will not feel deprived of
trimming a Christmas tree.
What makes an education at
Mizel unique is that all of this
is taught in a religiously diverse
setting. Jews and non-Jews alike
celebrate the Torah, a love of
Israel and America, the Hebrew
language, and Jewish values that
are intrinsically universal in
nature. Perhaps this is the real
miracle of Hanukkah: that we are
free to celebrate and share who
we are and what we stand for. Q
Kids Korner: Nicanor’s Gate
by Eliyahu Krigel
I
N THE BABYLONIAN Talmud in Yoma
38A, our text teaches of the story of Nicanor’s beautiful bronze doors. Nicanor
was a well off Jewish man who made his
home in the Egyptian city Alexandria. Each
year, Nicanor would use the three pilgrimage
festivals in our tradition, Sukkot, Passover,
and Shavuot, to make the necessary journey
to Jerusalem so he could pay his respects
and show his unconditional devotion on the
Temple Mount.
To demonstrate his longing to connect
to something greater than just himself,
Nicanor decided to have two large bronze
doors created which would serve as an entry
place to the Temple courtyard. Nicanor
commissioned the most creative artisans to
craft the magnificent bronze doors which
shone like gold when they were completed.
It took nearly two years to finish the project,
but once completed, these doors were the
ultimate sign of sacrifice and selflessness.
Nicanor’s hope was that the doors served the
purpose of becoming a gate that represented
a sacred threshold.
The Second Temple, also known as
Herod’s Temple, existed in Jerusalem on the
Temple Mount from 516 BCE until 70 ACE.
The Second Temple replaced the First Temple
which was destroyed by the Babylonian’s in
586 BCE. Nicanor’s hope was that his new
doors provided access for all people into this
most special and unique place. Even though
scholars debate the original location of these
doors, whether it was on the western perimeter allowing access into the Court of Women
or on the eastern side creating an entry place
for the Court of Israelites, the miracle of the
doors is a legend still being recounted to this
day in the shuk, market place, as well as in
the beit midrash, house of study.
Legend purports that after having spent a
large fortune on the doors to show his significant care and connection to supporting
the Temple and the community of Israel,
Nicanor had the two beautiful doors placed
on a boat to set sail for their final destination. He journeyed with the doors to make
sure they arrived safely and unharmed. On
the journey at sea, there was a fierce storm.
Waves lashed out at the ship like never before.
The crew became worried the ship would
sink so they suggested that they throw the
heaviest objects off the ship to ensure their
own safety. After scavenging the ship for
weight they could easily discard, the crew
voiced to the captain and Nicanor that they
toss the massive doors overboard to save
themselves. Nicanor pleaded with them but
as their debates escalated, the sea became
rougher and the ship nearly reached a tipping
point. With a dramatic turn of events, the
crew took over and heaved one of the giant
bronze doors overboard into the rough water.
With a tear in his eye and a broken heart,
Nicanor swung himself around the other
door and pleaded with the crew that at least
they keep just this one door. As the crew was
about to push the second massive door into
the violent water with Nicanor hanging on
willing to sacrifice his own life to save at least
one side of the gate, the sea turned placid and
the water calmed.
When the boat was safely docked on dry
land, the crew began to transfer the one
remaining door to its final resting place. Once
the single door was safely on dry land and
Nicanor heaved a heavy sigh that he had lost
the other door, suddenly, the lost door in the
sea quickly appeared right next to the other
door so the gate was now complete. When
trying to explain the lost door appearing out
of nowhere, some recount that a sea monster
swallowed thea original door whole before
the boat docked in the harbor of Acre and
then spit it out once the other twin door was
safely on dry land. Even though all the gates
of the original Sanctuary were subsequently
replaced for golden ones, Nicanor’s Gate was
kept intact because of the mysterious and
miraculous appearance of the lost gate.
The story of Nicanor’s Gate reminds us
of the great sacrifices we all have the possibility to make when we truly make room for
another in our lives. Nicanor was committed
to demonstrating his devotion by donating
the doors to the Temple. What are the ways
you give back and contribute to making our
community and our larger society a positively better and healthier place to inhabit?
What are tangible steps you take that help
you become a better person contributing to
the whole in a significant way? As we all get
ready for the shortest day on our calendar,
as well as the festive season of Chanukah
lighting our way, may we all remember those
less fortunate by helping out to the best of
our ability in a way that shows our care and
love in a selfless manner! Q
JEWI SHT U LS A.ORG
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