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Chanukah's Gift
We have arrived at Chanukah once more as we celebrate our victory over the forces of Greek culture that threatened to engulf our people 2,300 years ago. But alas, can we sit so smug and content that we overcame the ever so serious threat of assimilation of Greek culture thousands of years ago when we currently find ourselves sinking ever so quickly in the quicksand of assimilation of Western culture?
Did we gain anything of substance from our Chanukah experience for which we can celebrate? If we did then our celebration will be well justified and we can use that gain in our current challenge. But if we simply survived the onslaught of Greek culture and gained nothing of substance then why bother celebrating. We might do better mourning over the current trend of assimilation then celebrating some long-ago survival.
If Chanukah found its way on to the Jewish calendar then it clearly gave us something of substance. The Jewish calendar will not allow entry to its ranks unless the event that occurred had a lasting impact on her people. Hence, as we celebrate Chanukah we need to learn the lesson of survival that worked 2,300 years ago and implement it today to spare us from the engulfing current culture.
How did our people overcome the quicksand of Greek culture? Perhaps we ought to ask how our people got stuck in the quicksand of Greek culture to begin with. The Greeks were not our first exposure to foreign cultures. We had already encountered the Babylonians and the Persians for over 200 years and we did not find them or their culture very attractive. Why did we suddenly become so attracted to the Greeks that we gave up our own way of life in exchange for theirs?
The Greeks had a culture that appeared so advanced than our way of life. Although the Jew's path in life led him to happiness and contentedness with himself and his family, and although his path in life gave him the enriched sense of accomplishment and meaningfulness, nevertheless, the Greeks opened up treasure boxes of science and math, of architecture and art, the likes of which the world had not yet seen. This was attractive to the Jew. These new windows of human intellect distracted him from the sublime beauty and wisdom of the Torah.
In his distraction to these new discoveries he did not notice how his own human condition deteriorated from its princely form to its animal form. What had been sacred was now despicable and what had been despicable was now sacred. The sacrificing of a pig on the alter of the Temple which was an unspeakable horror was now sacred while studying a verse of Torah which had been sacred had now become despicable.
This is how our people got stuck in Greek culture to begin with.
Once our people rediscovered the beauty of their Torah and recognized the genius of Her wisdom they recommitted themselves and dedicated themselves to that Torah. That commitment was so deep-rooted that the Torah Herself pulled them out from the quicksand of assimilation.
Chanukah gave Her people a deepened appreciation of Torah that remains with us eternally. Today, 2,300 years later we can find deep inside ourselves an appreciation for the sublime beauty of Torah. Even those of us who are not familiar with the intricacies of Torah knowledge can still recognize the wisdom of Torah when we hear it. That is the gift that Chanukah gave us.
When we look at Western culture with all its progress we nevertheless find children who, at best, will look down at their parents and be embarrassed by their company. It is not uncommon for children of this progressive culture to talk derisively about their parents and humiliate them publicly.
When we take the gift of Chanukah; the insight of how our Torah's way of life can impact our children and all the other wisdom that lies inside Her holy words, then we can be moved to attach ourselves to Her. And once again She will pull us out of our current quicksand.
If we take the courage to follow that calling then we have the right, no, the obligation to celebrate Chanukah 2,300 years later.
Have a wonderful Shabbos and a happy Chanukah.
Paysach Diskind
