{"id":618,"date":"2010-12-06T21:12:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-06T21:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/12\/taking-chanukah-too-seriously.html"},"modified":"2010-12-06T21:12:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-06T21:12:00","slug":"taking-chanukah-too-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/12\/taking-chanukah-too-seriously.html","title":{"rendered":"Taking Chanukah Too Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, chieftain of the Reform movement, has gotten himself in quite the tizzy over Howard Jacobson\u2019s innocuous Chanukah article last week in The New York Times<\/i><\/a>.\u00a0 First let\u2019s look at some of what Jacobson wrote:<\/p>\n

Everyone knows the bare bones of the story. At Hanukkah we celebrate the Maccabees, also known as the Hasmoneans, who defeated the might of the Syrian-Greek army in 165 B.C., recapturing the desecrated Temple and reconsecrating it with oil that ought to have run out in a day but lasted eight. Indeed, Hanukkah means \u201cconsecration,\u201d and when we light those candles we are remembering the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

But how many Jews truly feel this narrative as their own? I\u2019m not asking for contemporary relevance. History is history: whatever happens to a people is important to them. But Hanukkah \u2014 at least the way it\u2019s told \u2014 struggles to find a path to Jewish hearts.<\/p>\n

\u2026Isn\u2019t there something a touch suspicious, for example, about our defeating the Syrian-Greek army? \u2026Trouncing the Syrian-Greeks sounds worryingly like wish fulfillment, and the story of the oil that should have run out after one day actually lasting eight feels too much like parable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story doesn\u2019t ring true because it isn\u2019t true.\u00a0 The reality of the story is hidden from us because it would be even less effective, if that\u2019s possible, in touching our hearts.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve told the true story of the Maccabean revolt on this blog<\/a> and it\u2019s readily available all over the internet and in hundreds of books.\u00a0 There was no wholesale trouncing of the Syrian-Greek army and no oil miracle, either.<\/p>\n

It was a civil war between two complex and competing Jewish world views.\u00a0 The winners were the more religiously zealous and non-compromising, not exactly great role models for modern Jews.<\/p>\n

So along comes Rabbi Yoffie to the rescue of Chanukah on Huffpost<\/a>:<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, as the Jews of America prepared for the beginning of the holiday that evening, the New York Times published on its op-ed page a rant against Hanukkah written by Howard Jacobson. Jacobson, the English author, attacked Hanukkah as shallow, imitative, inauthentic, primitive and lacking a compelling religious message. \u00a0As the article was read and shared throughout the blogosphere, Jews reacted with puzzlement, dismay and not a little anger.<\/p>\n

\u2026The Hanukkah narrative, like all holiday narratives, is part myth and part history. Its central theme is the dedication of the Jews to God and their commitment to rebuilding and consecrating God\u2019s Temple. The Hanukkah miracle suggests a clear and comforting message: In times of distress, God comes to our aid. At the same time, those who prefer this-worldly values can emphasize other themes of the holiday, such as the importance of battling assimilation, affirming religious freedom and resisting oppressors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s actually Yoffie\u2019s take on Chanukah that puzzles, dismays and angers me.<\/p>\n

First of all, as to the \u201cclear and comforting message\u201d of God\u2019s aid, I call bullshit.\u00a0 God comes to our aid in times of distress?\u00a0 Only in storybooks.\u00a0 Can someone please help these self-deluded Jewish teachers understand that the REAL history of the Jews is one in which God did nothing for us in times of distress?\u00a0 Geez, the Holocaust only happened some seven decades ago and he\u2019s already forgotten that our fictional God failed to make an appearance.<\/p>\n

As for the \u201cthis-worldly\u201d values of \u201cbattling assimilation\u201d and \u201caffirming religious freedom,\u201d these are two completely contradictory values.\u00a0 Assimilation is not such a horrible thing.\u00a0 We Jews worked damn hard to assimilate into America.\u00a0 It came with challenges to our continuity that are best answered by warmly welcoming newcomers and encouraging the development of a meaningful Jewish culture for the overwhelming majority of secular Jews.<\/p>\n

\u201cAffirming religious freedom\u201d is the exact opposite of \u201cbattling assimilation.\u201d\u00a0 It means that we allow people to discover truth on their own.\u00a0 For Jewish Humanists it means making the case for a secular Jewish identity and allowing people the real religious freedom to embrace or reject the tenets of any faith.<\/p>\n

In any case, we all know that Chanukah is a pale reflection of the more hearty winter solstice celebration of Christmas.\u00a0 It can\u2019t really compete with that monster of all holidays so it shouldn\u2019t even try.\u00a0 If American Jews are not satisfied with the lights of the menorah, then the religious freedom that Yoffie touts allows them to participate in any or all of the secular elements of Christmas.\u00a0 (I did it as a child and we all remained Jews.)\u00a0 Of course, the Yoffies of the world feel the need to \u201cbattle\u201d that kind of assimilation.\u00a0 I would just smile and repeat, as always, \u201cIt\u2019s all just human culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, chieftain of the Reform movement, has gotten himself in quite the tizzy over Howard Jacobson\u2019s innocuous Chanukah article last week in The New York Times.\u00a0 First let\u2019s look at some of what Jacobson wrote:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,22,23,24],"class_list":["post-618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-chanukah","tag-jewish-history","tag-jewish-holidays","tag-liberal-judaism"],"yoast_head":"\nTaking Chanukah Too Seriously<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rabbi Eric Yoffie, chieftain of the Reform movement, has gotten himself in quite the tizzy over Howard Jacobson\u2019s innocuous Chanukah article last week in\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/12\/taking-chanukah-too-seriously.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking Chanukah Too Seriously\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rabbi Eric Yoffie, chieftain of the Reform movement, has gotten himself in quite the tizzy over Howard Jacobson\u2019s innocuous Chanukah article last week in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/12\/taking-chanukah-too-seriously.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atheist Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-06T21:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey L. 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