I COMMENT I Chanukah Holiday Celebrating What? MOSHE DANN Special to The Jewish News A JULES R. SCHUBOT jewellers — gemologists EMBE +%41, GEM S 3001 West Big Beaver Road • Suite 112 • Troy, Michigan 48084 • (313) 649-1122 JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Happy Chanukah NOW 2 LOCATIONS Park West Plaza On the Boardwalk Northwestern Hwy. Southfield Orchard Lake Rd. W. Bloomfield Mon.-Sat. 10-6 Sun. 12-5 Mon.-Sat. 10-8 Sun. 12-5 — Dec. 18-23 352-0030 50, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1989 851-2828 WE SHIP FURNITURE iiral Imre , 6453 FARMINGTON ROAD W. BLOOMFIELD 855.5822 We are winning. gilwalicAN soc cANcER iEw ` -t the time of the Has- monean revolt, Jews in Israel were , threatened by (1) the en- croachments of a foreign culture, (2) internacine strife between religious/political/so- cial factions, (3) political domination by a foreign power which denied them independence. The revolt occurred when the material level of existence in Israel had risen substan- tially, when the Jews had been able to rebuild the in- frastructure of their society, and when the foreign power imposed new restrictions, par- ticularly in religious practices. The revolt was sparked by what was seen as an affront to religious sensibilities: forc- ed idolatry. But it moved quickly to confront fun- damental questions of na- tionalism and the preserva- tion of basic freedoms, issues which brought broad popular support. The revolt also sought to turn back the cultural inva- sion of a foreign power which, despite its benefits, also brought with it values and beliefs that were unfavorable to Judaism. The rabbis, led by Mattityahu and his sons, (who were probably con- sidered by some to be ex- tremists) perceived a growing threat from assimilationists who they believed had utter- ly compromised Judaism. For the rabbis, there was no other choice than resistance. The massive popular support they were able to mobilize, however, became included in a vicious political struggle for power. The assimilationists had won, however, much earlier, as witnessed by their in- fluence in every aspect of dai- ly life. The revolt could not alter the inroads made by the foreign culture, any more than it could suppress the in- tense rivalries within the Jewish community. United only against external enemies, the revolution quickly deteriorated into im- itations of its adversaries. The revolution became in- stitutionalized and self- serving, substituting a cheapened nationalism for Dr. Moshe Dann, a former Detroiter and a former assistant professor of history, is now a tour guide in Israel. what might have been a spiritual renaissance, and en- ding in the destruction of the Temple and the transforma- tion of Jewish civilization itself. Emphasis on political/military victories led away from a more transcen- dant vision of the purpose andplace of the Jewish people. On battlefields there is always the possibility that the enemy makes mistakes. A cruse of oil necessary or rituals is a detail nearly forgotten, but it offers a metaphysical perspective of the world. Physical achievements, while impor- tant, cannot sustain, cannot overcome despair and doubt, cannot heal wounds of the soul. ❑ 11 I NEWS 1■•■•■ Austria Votes Compensation New York (JTA) — After decades of intractability on the question of compensa- tion to victims of Nazi crimes, the Austrian Parliament passed legisla- tion that will enable Jews- forced to flee Austria to receive social security benefits. The 48th Amendment to the Austrian Social In- surance Law will make it possible for Holocaust sur- vivors who were born in Austria before 1930 to claim social security benefits. Whereas previous legisla- tion had set the cut-off date at 1924, the new amendment will allow thousands of former Austrian citizens to receive an on-going monthly payment of approximately $400. "This is a tremendous breakthrough," said Israel Miller, president of the Committee for Jewish Claims on Austria. "For years, the Austrians have claimed that they were not part of the Nazi empire, that they were a victim country" and therefore were not responsible for compensa- tion payments. But according to Elan Steinberg, executive director of the World Jewish Con- gress, such legislative ac- tions hardly fulfill Austria's obligations to its former citizens. "The legislation," said Steinberg, "simply does not meet the repeated four- decade-old demand of the Jewish world." El 41 1