Page 18 - HaMizrachi #25 Chanuka 2020 USA

GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Rabbi David Stav

The Real Choice

Today

hanukah is perhaps the most Who wants to be an isolated minority Thanks to this holiday, we reveal the
beloved holiday of the year. The in a hostile world boasting power, light we have in our lives, the great priv-
Cvast majority of Jews (religious confidence and esthetics? Who would ilege we have of being Jewish and being
and not so religious) light candles and want to exchange the magnificent Greek part of the great story our nation has
eat donuts and latkes. On the occasions temples, the packed stadiums, for some brought to the world.
I have married non-religious couples on dilapidated Jewish study halls?
Chanukah, they usually ask me to begin Of course there were a handful who did Rabbi Sacks zt”l used to say that in the
the ceremony by lighting the candles. past we were the chosen people. We were
believe in the Jewish people. They were forced to be Jews. Our enemies gener-
It is no coincidence that the Rambam able to miraculously vanquish the enemy ally didn’t allow us to assimilate (apart
writes that “The mitzvah of ner Chanu- on the military battlefield but spiritually from Greece, who wanted to assimilate
kah is a much beloved mitzvah.” This and culturally? No chance. us along with all other nations.)
is an unusual statement as our Sages
are not accustomed to assign grades to We can see a similar scenario in our Now, we are the people that choose. We
different mitzvot, and certainly not in times too. Entire cultures are collapsing need to decide if we want to be Jews
halachic works, in which people’s emo- in the face of western culture, without or not. In that sense, Chanukah is the
tional connection to mitzvot does not even one shot being fired or one missile quintessential contemporary holiday.
really influence the halachic discourse. being launched. Just like then, we need to choose. It’s
not easy because we don’t have anyone
Therefore, this is evidently more than a So it wasn’t simple at all to decide to physically forcing us like they did back
social comment about the spread of the celebrate Chanukah. Especially when then, and we have a powerful culture
holiday among all sections of the people. its main theme is the dedication of the bombarding us from all angles. We need
The fondness we have for lighting Cha- Mikdash desecrated by the Greeks. The to decide.
nukah candles can teach us a significant same Mikdash that no longer stands.
principle we can use as a beacon for both Why celebrate a day that no longer has The mitzvah of ner Chanukah teaches
our present and our future. The reason any significance? Would anyone still cel- us the best way to spread the Torah’s
we are so connected to this holiday ebrate Yom HaAtzmaut if – G-d forbid messages.
should serve us as a paradigm for our – Iran would destroy Israel? To reveal the light within it.
Jewish lives – and is perhaps something Therefore, it is seemingly not the mili-
we are not always aware of in our crazy tary victory we are celebrating. We are To encourage the younger generation to
times. marking the cultural courage of those continue to help the Jewish people grow

The story of Chanukah does not start Maccabim who decided they wanted to and flourish, they must feel this thing is
“beloved.” They must feel the Torah is
particularly well. It’s not all clear but it is remain Jews even if the Mikdash was no relevant and meaningful for each and
agreed that the Greek Empire that ruled longer, and the Jewish State destroyed. every one of them. That Jewish wisdom
over Eretz Yisrael at the time forbade Their Jewish spirit was not broken. and tradition can make them better
the Jews from keeping the mitzvot and people, happier people, living lives of
worked to transform the Jewish pop- On the contrary. It became stronger and meaning, growth and purpose.
gained traction. Our Sages compiled the
ulation into another cultural Hellenist
enclave. The Jews didn’t need too much Mishnah and the Gemara and eventually As indeed it can.
persuasion as they were keen to discard the entire gamut of Jewish literature that
the national yoke of Torat Moshe and nourishes the Jewish people to this very
become part of a “global village” soaked day.
in a Greek culture that was very attrac- רֹוא ה ָ רֹות ְ ו ה ָ ו ְ צ ִ מ רֵנ, “A mitzvah is a candle Rabbi David Stav is Chief Rabbi of
tive and appealing. and the Torah is light” (Mishlei 6:23). Shoham.

For as long as Jews are Jews, they contribute something unique to the intellectual,
spiritual and moral life of society. So that if Jews are no longer Jews there
18 | is a missing voice, an empty place, in the conversation of mankind.
RABBI SACKS