December 4, 1942
42
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle
Right Over Might
it
The Maccabean revolt which
left its imprint not only on Jew-
ish history but on the whole of
civilization, did more than to make
possible the establishment of a
Jewish kingdom in Palestine.
Were it not for the ardent Hasi-
dim who rejected pagan idolatry
and the Hellenistic mode of life,
the entire future of the Judeo-
Christian tradition, the fountain-
head of our democratic way of
life, would have been endangered.
Te
ill
rs
to
n.
III
Te
if
Id
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A Joyous Chanukah to All
)f
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By JACOB KABAKOFF
Editor's Note: Jacob Kabakoff, a student of the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, is a well-known contributor to the
English-Jewish and Hebrew press. In his current article he
discusses the significance of Chanukah in the eternal battle
for freedom.
The miraculous outcome of the
Maccabean struggle may be view-
ed as a decisive turning-point in
the history of humanity. The Hel-
lenistic world, with its concomi-
tant idolatry and syncretism, was
certainly unable to assure the
furtherance of the ideals of equal-
ity, freedom and peace. Had not
the Maccabees arisen to chal-
lenge the Hellenistic outlook, the
world would have remained a
world of Might, not of Right. It
is inconceivable that Greek-Orien-
tal thought could have rescued
the world from the spiritual mo-
rass into which it had sunk. It
was the Battle of Emmans, in
which Judah the Maccabee and
his valiant soldiers repulsed their
powerful Syrian oppressers, that
turned the tide against paganism
and encouraged the continual
growth and extension of the re-
ligious ideal. For it was not
merely the force of arms, but
rather the power of the spirit
which enabled them to prevail
against their enemies.
How far-reaching was the in-
!; i !tit If
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fluence of the Maccabean strug-
gle can be seen from the fact that
the Pharisees, who during the
Second Commonwealth were in-
strumental in the development of
a Judaism and an ethical system
of law, are seen as an outgrowth
of the Hasidim. In their own age,
the Pharisees continued the bat-
tle for Judaism, stressing as did
the Hasidim before them, that it
was a "time to do for the Lord."
Through the Talmud and a Jew-
ish way of life, they set an ex-
ample of an ethical order worthy
of emulation by the world. Here-
in lies the religio-national signifi-
cance of Hanukkah for the Jews
and its importance for the world
at large.
The historic event with which
Hanukkah is associated is the
dedication of the Temple, whose
date, 25 Kislev, corresponds ac-
cording to legend with the day
upon which the work of building
the Tabernacle was completed.
The symbol of the eight-day fes-
tival later became the Menorah,
and the institution of the joyous
custom of kindling the lights gave
rise to the name of Feast of
Lights for the holiday.
The first source to discuss the
lighting of special lights for
Hanukkah is the Jewish histor-
ian Flavius Josephus who, giving
a symbolic interpretation of the
custom in his "Antiquities of the
Jews," was led to state: "I sup-
pose the reason was, because this
liberty beyond our hopes appear-
ed to us." Thus the lights are a
symbol of the liberty which was
affected on Hanukkah. In an-
cient times, the lights were kin-
dled with great ceremony and
were placed at the left side of
the entrance to the house, opposite
the Mezuzah, as a demonstration
of festivity. In modern times
they represent a symbol of faith,
their numbers increasing daily
and implying that Jewish devo-
tion must constantly be strength-
ened.
In Palestine there has again
developed the practice of kindling
the lights outdoors. Until the
adoption of the recent wartime
restrictions, large electric Men-
oras were lighted in Tel-Aviv
and the colonies as the climax
of an evening of ceremony and
parade, featured by a candle
march in which the children took
a leading part.
The Rabbis in the Talmud
A Joyous Chanukah to All
Outfit Yourself
for the Holidays
b•ations took. In the Orient it is
still the practice of Jews to mas-
querade on the holiday. Hanukkah
has also become an occasion for
the practice of charity and the
pursuit of the general commun-
ity welfare.
In the modern period, Hanukkah
came more and more to symbol-
ize the will of the Jewish people
to survival to the continuance of
their religion and the furtherance
of their cultural life. The Zion-
ist movement has continually
pointed to the Maccabeean revolt
as a symbol of rebirth and heroic
effort to a generation desiring
to see the realization of Jewish
statehood in Palestine. Hanukkah
has been widely used as the oc-
See RIGHT—Page 8
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rightly stressed the spiritual as-
pect of the Feast of Dedication,
and in reply to the question
"What is Hanukkah?" answered
that it symbolized the miracle of
a single cruse of undefiled oil
which sufficed for eight days.
Sensing that the importance of
Hanukkah in Jewish history lay
chiefly in its religious significance,
the Rabbis placed the military ex-
ploits of the Maccabees in the
background and emphasized the
spiritual elements which made
possible the survival of Judaism.
Throughout the ages it was this
stress, together with the emphasis
on the national element, of the
holiday which rendered Hanukkah
a source of hope to the Jews
everywhere and an occasion for
rejoicing and merriment. During
the Middle Ages, it was the prac-
tice of various synagogues to
read the Scroll of Antiochus, con-
taining the legendary lore in
Aramaic and Hebrew on the
events of the holiday.
The festive character of Ha-
nukkah was enhanced by special
meals and gatherings and by deli-
cacies (largely made of cheese)
whose preparation came into
vogue as early as the fourteenth
century. The playing of games
was encouraged after the kindling
of the candles, since it was pro-
hibited to do any work by their
light. Theatricals were another
form which the Hanukkah cele-
WE JOIN OUR JEWISH AGENTS
Herman J. Agins
Israel M. Malek
R. Blumcr
Abraham Schmidt
Nathan Kaplan
William Mcisler
IN WISHING YOU ALL A
JOYOUS CHANUKAH
H. B. CLARK
C. H. CARPENTER
GENERAL AGENTS
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