2002-12-01 - 7:32 p.m.
THE LIMITS OF MIGHT AND POWER
The Jewish holiday of Chanukah* began when the sun went down last Friday. Contrary to the way it sometimes appears, Chanukah is a minor religious holiday that marks an actual historical event. Yet like any holiday, minor or major, it teaches lessons�both the lessons we tell our children and the lessons that require age to grasp.
The first lesson of Chanukah, the one we tell our youngest children, involves the miracle of the oil. The story of the oil is the only answer the Talmud, the Jewish book that contains the oral Torah (now written down, of course), gives to the question, �What is Chanukah?� The story of the oil is that, when the Jews rededicated the Temple (and Chanukah means �rededication�) there was only enough oil to like the Ner Tamid, the eternal light that was never to go out, for one day. Making the proper oil took eight days but the Jews poured the oil in and hoped for the best. Sure enough, the oil lasted for eight days. God so blessed the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem that the oil lasted until more could be made.
The second lesson of Chanukah, the one that creates heroes for our children, is the lesson of the dedication of the Maccabees. We tell our children that the Maccabees were fighting for the continuation of the Jewish way of life and of the Jewish people. After the breakup of the Greek empire, the land of Israel, then called Judea, fell into the hands of the Seleucids of Syria. The Selecucids, including Antiochus IV (whose rule began in 176 B.C.E.**), began hellenizing worship in Judea. They outlawed the Sabbath, insisted on sacrifices to Greek gods, and defiled the Temple, turning it into a place of pagan sacrifice. When Appelles, a Greek, tried to force Mattathias, a Jewish priest, into sacrificing to a pagan god, Mattathias killed Appelles and fled to the hills with his sons, there to form the army of revolt that became known as the Maccabees. By 164 B.C.E., they retook Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple.
The third lesson, the lesson for adults, is in the rest of the story. The rabbis who selected the portion of prophets to be read on Chanukah hinted at this lesson. The portion of the prophets read is Zechariah, which says, �Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit....***� The Maccabees fought for God and religion, succeeded, and rededicated the Temple. Why would the rabbis be concerned about the use of might and power? After all, Joshua fought for God and religion and the walls of Jericho tumbled down. The rabbis rarely suggested such caution in telling that story.
The rabbis were concerned because what follows the story was not �happily ever after.� The Maccabees, even before the rededication of the Temple, showed signs that their view of fighting for God and religion was a bit narrow. They killed apostates and forcibly circumcised those they believed should be circumcised. After the rededication of the Temple, they changed their goals. No longer was it enough for the Jews to be able to worship as they wished. Although their Jewish allies were satified, the Maccabees wanted them to gain independence for Judea. So, from approximately 164 B.C.E. until 143 B.C.E., they fought, finally winning independence. Then, thrilled with their victories and viewing them as a sign that God was on their side, they seized power and became the Hasmonean dynasty.
As an early act, Simon, the youngest Maccabee brother, decided that the throne was not enough. Hadn�t God blessed them? Hadn�t his father been a priest? Nevermind that tradition dictated that king and high priest be separate. Simon had been blessed by God and God clearly wanted him to be both king and high priest. His reward was the outbreak of internecine fighting and he was assasinated by his son-in-law.
What followed was some very bad family behavior and bad rule. Mothers and sons fought with each other and brothers maimed each other because the office of the high priest could not be held by a blemished man. John Hyrcanus, a Hasmonean who ruled from 134 B.C.E. to 104 B.C.E., after conquering the Samaritans and the Edomites, in an act rare among Jews, forced the conversion of Edomites. For a long term view of that act, simply consider that Herod was an Edomite. Hasmonean hubris extended to the belief that they could use and control the Romans. That pride lead to the fall to the Romans in 63 B.C.E.
So, what should we learn from Chanukah? We should learn more than something about miracles. We should learn more than something about the need to fight to ensure survival of religion and to glory God. As adults, we should learn something about the dangers of believing that God�s blessing in one endeavor indicates God�s agreement with all of our endeavors. We should learn something about the dangers of believing that our will and God�s will are one and the same. We should learn something about the dangers of imposing our beliefs on others.
Most of all, we should learn the limits of might and power.
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* There are many correct spellings of Chanukah. Chanukah is not an English word and it begins with a Hebrew letter that has no English equivalent. The word does not start with a �ch� sound as in �child� or a �h� sound as in �happy.� The actual sound is gutteral and sounds like the last sound in the German pronunciation of �Bach.�
** B.C.E. stands for �Before the Common Era.� For the sake of clarity, I, like many others, adopt the Christian numbering system but I do not go so far as to acknowledge Jesus when I do so. Years that Christians would denominate �A.D.,� I denominate �C.E.� for �Common Era.�
***Zechariah 4:6.
LAST YEAR: The Journey Through Christmas
LAST FIVE ENTRIES:
The Act of Creation
Why I Should Not Divorce
Turkey for One?
An Urge to Reboot the Helpless Guy
Whistling in Chinese Restaurants
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
