Reflection on Chanukah
The following is a paraphrase
from a “Reflection on Chanukah” by Neal Oopskin. I’m
sure that many of us have gone through the same scenario, as we prepared for
the Winter holidays in
Chanukah time was
always a time for mixed feelings in our house. We grew up amongst the gentiles
who were celebrating Christmas. A full month before Christmas, there were
advertisements in the newspapers and radios about special bargains. How we
wanted Christmas in our house too. We petitioned dad to no avail. We were
Jewish, he explained simply; we did not celebrate Christmas.
How we envied our neighbors. They
had decorated their house with a large pine tree and spent all of their time
decorating it, making it look more and more beautiful. They went shopping for
presents, those unbelievable toys in the store windows! And they had all of
their Christmas parties. We spoke with mom; maybe she could influence dad. We
did not want to be Christians, but we did not see the connection with the
holiday spirit and being Jewish or Christian. Just let us hang up a stocking
and get some treats inside!
Dad sat us down in the living
room and gave us a lecture which I still remember till today. He explained that
we are Jewish, which we knew. Perhaps we are not the most observant Jews in the
world, but still, as Jews we
True on Chanukah we give
presents, but the theme of the day is different. We
Dad seemed to veer from the topic
at hand. We Jews are very few in percentages in relation to the rest of the
population of the world. Dad did not have figures but he estimated at less than
one percent of the world's population, maybe less. But look at what the Jews
have contributed to the world. In every field, whether it was science,
philosophy, medicine, or business it was the Jews making advancements for the
betterment of the world. Chanukah is really a time to take stock of us. This
was the time that Judah Hamaccabee began his
rebellion against the overwhelming tide of Jews taking upon themselves customs
of the gentiles.
Chanukah was a time when the Jews
decided that they were fed up with those who acted like gentiles. They were so
fed up that they started a war. Not just against the many Hellenized Jews, but
against the great power of that time,
We sat on the couch mesmerized by
dad's little speech. Dad was not really a talkative type. Mom did most of the
talking in the house. Dad did not use imaginative and descriptive adjectives
that conjured up brave Jewish warriors pitting their meager strength against
the multitudes of trained soldiers. Dad was not from the most learned Jews; he
had a scanty secular and Jewish education. He was not an overtly religious man.
Yet he was a Jew to the core. The concept of being a gentile did not exist for
him. He was Jewish, whether he was awake or asleep, not by continuously
chanting prayers, not by being book learned, but because he realized in his
essence that that was him. And he made peace with his being Jewish, not by
dressing in a distinct manner, or constantly speaking of Jewish topics, but by
accepting who he was and never envying his gentile friends. And strangely as it
may seem, dad had many gentile friends. They respected him for his own
tradition. He never acted prideful; he treated them with respect but never
envied them.
Dad spoke to us in simple
English, yet when he finished we sat on the sofa as if we had witnessed a star
performance in the movies. After dad left the room, it took us several minutes
to digest what he had said. The days after dad's speech saw a change in me. I
still liked looking in the department store windows and seeing the various toys
on sale. But I never again felt the desire to partake in the Christian
holidays. I could have respect for them, but I realize that our portion as Jews
was better than theirs. I never again envied them.