Dear Chevre (Friends):
It’s called the “December Dilemma.” Every year we go through it. We are bombarded on the radio, on television, on the road, in the malls. How do we avoid getting caught up in the general frenzy of the season? How do we teach our children to appreciate their own Jewish heritage when the entire world is celebrating something else? How can we possibly compete with the undeniable magnificence of the bedecked Christmas tree, the loveliness of the Christmas carols, and the enjoyment of the Christmas feast?
The solution is not to elevate Hanukkah to the same stature as Christmas. The attempt to do so is deceptive and disingenuous. Hanukkah is a peripheral festival within Jewish observance, whereas Christmas is one of two fundamental holidays for Christians. Hanukkah (pardon the pun) cannot hold a candle to Christmas. The solution, I think, is to celebrate the richness and diversity of the entire Jewish ritual calendar. There’s Hanukkah, but there’s also the cornucopia of fruits and nuts on Tu B’Shevat, the carnival on Purim, the family Seder on Passover, the blast of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the decorations in the Sukkah on Sukkot, dancing with the Torah on Simchat Torah, and on and on—not to mention Shabbat. Christian families may come home to the magical beauty of the Christmas lights once a year, but Jewish families come home to the magical beauty of the lights of Shabbat every week.
In truth, we should appreciate every major religion for its unique constellation of customs and traditions. The fallacy of the December Dilemma is that it tries to compare individual slices of the entire Jewish and Christian pies. Taken as a whole, however, each religion offers its adherents a joyous, celebratory and richly rewarding path through life.
Happy Hanukkah! (And, more importantly, Shabbat Shalom)
R. Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment