It's That Time Of The Year Again

It's that time of the year again. No, not Christmas time. I mean it's time for the eight days of Hanukkah. Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights, commemorates the Jewish uprising in the second century B.C. against a somewhat oppressive Greek kingdom which had tried to impose its culture on Jews and adorned the big Jewish Temple in Jerusalem with statues of Greek gods. It lasts eight days because when the Jews rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem that had been taken over and laced with statues and images of Greek Gods, a single vial of oil that the Hebrews placed there, supposedly enough for only one day, instead burned for eight days. Hmmmm Either that was a Hanukkah miracle or the manufacturer's product warranty and directions of use were wrong.

Ok, I know they didn't label products then, but nonetheless I like this holiday. Having attended a private school for 10 of my 12 primary and secondary education years that was populated with at least 1/2 being the Jewish faith I learned quite a bit about Judaism and Hanukkah, and I like both. I remember in elementary school one of the kids brought and shared those Hanukkah donuts for everyone in the class.

Any religion that worships donuts has me hooked. The kids in my classes sometimes also used to bring presents to exchange during Hanukkah. They talked about their Hanukkah bushes at home their menorahs in home windows and  they sometimes played with their dreidels (It's a spinning top) at recess. I even remember one kid telling me about her family's ritual to light a single candle at home each day of Hanukkah as a representation of how the single day temple candle burned for 10 days. She seemed so excited about it. How often today do kids get excited about religion?

Judaism is a tradition centered religion with plenty of rituals and traditions inherent to the worship. I like that, probably because I like old things. But what I most like and respect about Judaism is the fact that it places the value of humanity so high in the sphere of the religion.  Humans are also seen as sacred beings to be respected alongside rather than apart from God. Hanukkah itself is basically the celebration of the triumph of man's good over his evil nature. Judaism may not be a humanistic belief but it embraces the value of humanity and marries it with worship of God far more than most other religions.

Hanukkah reminds all of us, even non Jews like me, that confidence in one's identity and hope for the future are powerful forces that cannot be defeated, even in the darkest of times. And we are living in dark times now. Happy Hanukkah!