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Celebrate the Rabbi Sherwin Wine - Humanist Hero of the Year
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What is Hanukka? Friday, December 15th, is the first night of Hanukka, the eight-day Jewish winter celebration. For Humanistic Jews, Hanukka is a celebration of human courage. The flickering Hanukka lights are a reminder of the struggle, courage, and fragile triumphs of the Jewish people. The flames are a link to the past and a tribute to the dignity of Jews everywhere. Hanukka, a Hebrew word meaning "dedication," is said to refer to the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judah Maccabee and his followers in 161 B.C.E. The basis of Hanukka is the story of a Maccabean victory embellished by Talmudic legend. This legend tells us that a small band of Jews led by Judah Maccabee and his family rebelled when the Greek King Antiochus Epiphanes sought to impose Greek culture and religion upon his Syrian empire, which included Judea. Following their recapture of Jerusalem, the victorious Jews rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem and decreed an annual celebration of Jewish independence. Some six hundred years after the Maccabean victory, the rabbis, seeking to claim Hanukka as their own, added the legend of the single flask of oil that miraculously burned for eight days.
The values of the Maccabean revolution are as important today as they were centuries ago. We, too, must take the future into their own hands. We must choose for ourselves how we shall live, and we must act on that choice courageously without loss of integrity or hope. Hanukka is a valuable holiday for Humanistic Jews, affirming the wonder of nature, celebrating the courage of authentic heroes, and articulating the values we must have if heroism, humanity, and the natural order are to survive.
Celebrating Hanukka For
Humanistic Jews, Hanukka is a tribute to human power and courage. Judah Maccabee
was a man who was willing to fight for what he believed, although like his enemy
Antiochus Epiphanes, he was a religious zealot who denied freedom of worship to
those who opposed him. Despite this, his example of fearlessness demonstrates
ennobling bravery. Just as the Maccabees seized control of their own lives, we,
as Humanistic Jews take our future into our own hands. We choose how we shall
live, seeking to behave courageously and to preserve our integrity. For Humanistic
Jews, Hanukka is an endorsement of human
strength and ingenuity, of hope and bravery.
Humanistic Jews celebrate Hanukka as a reminder that human beings can use
their abilities to enhance the quality of life. Hanukka celebrations are festive
occasions, marked by the lighting of the candles of the hanukkia.
Families and communities gather for the holiday meal, featuring potato latkes.
Hanukka songs are sung and dreidel games are played. Often families bring their
own hanukkia to light at th
Lighting Candles At its best and most glorious, the flame of a candle points
high up, striving to move beyond its immediate reach. An active, burning candle
emits a glowing, golden haze around it. The flame of a candle communicates
strength, vitality, triumph, vision, and warmth. In the course of its life span, the flame of a candle is
dynamic, not static. It surges up and falls down. It sways back and forth. It
expands and contracts. The flame of a candle can brighten dark spots and expand
our vision. That same flame can narrow our focus and blind us if we fail to note
other sources of light in our environment. The flame of most candles has two parts. The upper, outer
layer is brilliant gold. The inner, lower layer is blue. This inner, lower layer
is like a shadow box, inviting us to explore the many images it suggests. These
images are both creative and destructive. Shadows suggest negative visions of
Jewish synagogues and homes set afire during pogroms and wars; of books, both
secular and religious, burned during cultural purges; of civilian and soldier
faces scarred by flames of wartime bombs. Flickers of candles also conjure
images of great moments in history, such as the mirac And lastly, candles have a finite existence. They demonstrate
the fragile nature of life on this earth. Candles begin to glow while in a solid
state, but eventually burn down to nothingness. Curiously, from the first moment
of burning, candles seem to shed tears of awareness as the wax drips down their
sides! In lighting candles, we seek connection with the past, with
each other, and with ourselves. Burning lights gives us a sense of our strength,
vision, and dynamism. They also reflect the complexity of our experience on
earth and the delicacy of our co-existence, peaceful or otherwise, here and now. May the lighting of candles always remind us of the dynamic, multi-faceted
and fragile nature of our lives. And may the light o
Barukh
haor baolam. Blessed
is the light of the world.
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The
story
of the Maccabees is a story of human courage, integrity, and hope. The
success of their revolution is rooted in the people’s desire for religious,
political, and economic freedom; their desire to choose their future for
themselves. This they accomplished, not by
pious pleas or tearful entreaties, but by
decisive action, expert
planning, and sheer guts.
Most celebrations reflect the ancient and traditional celebration of the holiday and include new meanings for our own day. Families often retell the ancient stories, share the rich symbols, and connect these with modern concerns and issues.
e
community celebration.
dles.
Sometimes candles serve the purpose of signaling the onset of passage of holy days
and special occasions. At other times we light candles to communicate our
solidarity with people from whom we are separated by gaps in time or space or
other barriers. The candle-lit windows of Poles after December 13, 1981, provide
dramatic example of this habit. Closer to home, we have the lighting of Yahrzeit
candles in memory of beloved deceased. At still other
times, we light candles to brighten dark corners and improve vision and
understanding. But no matter what the religion or culture, we have shown an
attachment to "burning lights," as Marc Chagall’s wife Bella called
them. Perhaps one reason for the universal appeal of candle lights is that
candles are a reflection of the human spirit, Jewish and otherwise.
le
of Hanukka, or the mundane but equally pleasant memories of the past. The latter
includes flames that heated savory meals of yesteryear and provided light to
dark households and passageways, enabling people to better control their world
and communicate with each other. Like the human spirit, burning lights are
capable of signaling both creativity and destruction.
