7 I II
TORAH
AIL Tit
%. %
AW"
Come hang out with
us in December
New Farmington Hills Location!
Miracle Of Lights
Shabbat Vayishlach:
Genesis 32:3-36:43;
Obadiah 1:1-21.
T
to Pilistina (Palestine), '
his is the week
meaning "Philistine-lane
before Chanukah.
a name-change intended
We take out our
to insult the Jewish com-
chanukiot, making sure
munity that had almost
we have enough candles
a thousand years before
for each of them for all the
vanquished the Philistines
nights. This is the week •
under King David.
we finalize our Chanukah
We know all too well
plans with friends and fam-
the story of the oppressive
ily and prepare to tell the
Rabbi J oseph
Roman occupation that
story of the Maccabees, of
P. KI ein
eventually led to the Roman
their victory over Antiochus
Special to the
destruction of Judea,
Epiphanes and the
Jewish News
Jerusalem and its Temple in
Assyrian-Greek army.
70 C.E. In the generations
Our eight-day "Festival
after that destruction, as
of Lights;' during which we
Jewish leaders of the Rabbinic Period
say "a great miracle happened there:'
begin to reconstruct rite and ritual,
is one of those high points in the great
historical adventure we call the Story of to say nothing of faith and belief, the
the Jewish People. But do you know "the' Hasmoneans come to be blamed for
putting it all in motion. The rabbis
rest of the story?"
are, therefore, particularly uncomfort-
The "Chanukah Story" you already •
able giving honor or praise to the
know is that the Hasmoneans led a
Hasmonean rebellion; and so they deal
two-year rebellion against the Seleucid
with the celebration of Chanukah in a
(Assyrian-Greek) kingdom. As part of
most interesting way.
the peace agreement (165 B.C.E.), the
Instead of telling the story of the
Jews established a semi-autonomous
brave Hasmoneans, called Maccabees, .
Jewish state; but you may not know
that the Hasmonean leadership quickly who wrested Jewish control of
Jerusalem and the Temple from the evil
and aggressively annexed the most
important of their neighboring regions, Assyrian-Greek Seleucids — they told
a story of God performing a miracle,
. absorbing a number of neighboring
switching the foals of the celebration
Semitic peoples into the Jewish people.
away from the historical Hasmoneans
The next hundred years are the "rest of
the story: and here I quote Max Dimont and toward faith in their saving God.
from his book The Amazing Adventures The proof of their efficacy is that when
we light our chanukiot, what is it that
of the Jewish People.
we recall? The miracle story of the lamp
"[T]he revolt which had been born in
that burned for eight days, a story that
a blaze of religious glory, was destined
to drown in political savagery. The sub- doen't appear in our Jewish tradition
sequent 80-year rule of the Hasmoneans until 500 C.E., well over. 600 years after
the historical Hasmonean rebellion!
became a macabre spree of fratricide,
And now you know "the rest of the
matricide and regicide. The Hasmoneans
story' ❑
killed each other and their enemies in
casual abandonment, as murder became
Joseph P. Klein is rabbi of Temple Emanu-El
a weapon of diplomacy"
in Oak Park.
In 69 B.C.E., with the people were
finally fed up with the Hasmonean
dynasty, civil war broke out among
Conversations
the Jews of Judea. Invited to police a
Does it make it easier for us to
cease-fire between the warring parties,
celebrate Chanukah in a non-
Rome was asked to intervene in the
Jewish society if the story is
civil war and to decide who would and
that of a "miracle" instead of an
should assume leadership. But having
armed insurrection?
its foot in the door, Rome itself annexes
Judea in 63 B.C.E. and changes its name
Imagine sitting among
friends, enjoying a latte
while your kids play in a
clean, safe environment...
Imagine No More!
12 Mile and Middlebelt • Farmington Hills, Ml
Ph(248)919-3284
vvvvw.junglejavaplay.corn
Bring in this ad to
receive $1.00 off
admission.
Expires 1/30/07 J1\11
11_,300
WE RE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE
the affiliation of
Jay N. Hack, MBA
Financial Advisor
with
Paul Hack Investment Consulting
of Raymond James & Associates
Paul Hack Investment Consulting of Raymond James & Associates
31550 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 250 I Farmington Hills, MI 48334
248-932-2902 I Toll-Free: 877-932-2902 I Fax: 248-932-1829
jay.hack@raymondjames.com
RAYMOND JAMES
& ASSOCIATES, INC.
Member New York Stock ExchangelSIPC
Individual solutions from independent advisors
©2006 Raymond James & Associates, Inc. 35601106
December 7 2006
53