Today We Are All Maccabees

A French-born terrorist killed one and wounded others near the Eiffel Tower while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Havering Council in east London decided it would be “unwise” for the traditional menorah to be installed outside the town hall because it would “risk further inflaming tensions within our communities.” The lighting of the menorah has been canceled because it is seen as a menace to society.

University presidents afraid of Hamas sympathizers and their bullying, paint smearing, racist chants have been intimidated into silence, even condoning their hatred and violence as protected under the guise of free speech. Jewish students voicing fears for their life and safety on campus are ignored, their cries to be heard pushed aside and disregarded. Genocidal chants across American college campuses, the bastions of culture, Ivy League education and supposed defenders of democracy, have become normalized and in vogue.

From the Oakland City Council meeting to the disruption of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, we have witnessed those who glorify kidnapping, rape, murder, torture, and beheading. They celebrate the attempt to exterminate the Jewish people brandishing signs with swastikas, “by all forms, by all means possible”, falsely accusing Israel of killing our own and inventing these evil atrocities. “From the river to the sea” – they echo the vision of Hitler and Nazis, wanting Israel and even the world to be “Judenrein”, cleansed of Jews.

It’s easy to lose our breath, our spirit, our fight for a world filled with kindness and light. We dare not.

The intentional violation of women has been marginalized by U.N. Women and feminist organizations worldwide. (It took them eight weeks and an enormous outcry to finally issue some measly statement.)

Children snatched on that barbaric day were branded by their captors with burns on their legs from searing hot motorcycle exhaust pipes. Just in case there’d be an attempted escape, the pilfered child would be identified and found. They were also drugged to keep them complacent. We watch clips of a giggling Kfir Bibas, an infant, his angelic smile filling our screen. The day his mother brought him home as a newborn, his 4 year old brother Ariel, kissed his little toes tenderly. Whose heart cannot be broken wondering who is cuddling these babies in the dark of the night, who is wiping away their tears, where are these beautiful redhead boys? Has the entire world lost its soul?

It’s easy to lose our breath, our spirit, our fight for a world filled with kindness and light.

We dare not.

For thousands of years the message of the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai has anchored civilization to all that is good and just. “Thou shall not kidnap. Thou shall not murder.” If we grow fatigued and allow the world to turn its back on the eternal wisdom of Sinai, then we have abdicated the Jewish mission. We must stand tall and be a “light onto the nations”, fighting darkness with our light.

How do we keep our strength?

In the darkest of nights, we are given the gift of Hanukkah’s light to fortify us and embolden our life-force.

The Greeks sought to bring the Jewish people to their knees. They hunted down those who would study Torah, observe Shabbat, and honor the covenant of circumcision. They violated our women. They brought a pig within the hallowed walls of the Temple, hoping to strip the Jewish people of their sanctity and thus their identity.

Enter the Maccabees. Mattisyahu and his five sons rose like lions. They gathered the valiant, the brave, and the people around them who refused to be silenced. The few amongst the many, the weak against the strong. Many doubted that they would win the battle. Salvation came through the mighty heroism shown not by ferocious militants but by the spiritual priests, the kohanim, who had performed Divine service in the Temple. Their faith infused them with the strength to persevere.

Upon entering the Temple in Jerusalem, they purified and rebuilt. Searching for pure oil so that they could kindle the lights of the menorah was a search for their “inner oil” as well. There was only oil enough for one night but miraculously, the oil lasted for eight, exploding into an eternal festival of lights.

There are times we believe that we do not possess sufficient oil to fight the darkness that surrounds us. We grow weary. The miracle of Hanukkah speaks to us today. We can feel as if the entire world has gone mad. The darkness is thick, choking, not allowing us to breathe. But we must know that we are all Maccabees, standing for truth and light despite the hatred and evil that has contaminated the atmosphere.

Do you have the oil within?

Of course you do! You are part of this miraculous, eternal nation. We have traveled the four corners of this earth, witnessed every form of persecution and yet, here we are. A nation holding onto our traditions, rediscovering our love for one another, unified and strong.

This Hanukkah plug into the power of the day. Know that deep within, you are the courageous child of the Maccabees, celebrating the eternal strength of the Jewish nation. Am Yisrael Chai!