The first candle will
be lit on the Chanukah menorah (chanukiah) on Wednesday, November 27, the night
before the observance of the American holiday of Thanksgiving. This calendrical phenomenon won’t happen again for
another 79,000 years!
I have known of
families that have observed Chanukah early while children and grandchildren
were visiting during Thanksgiving.
This year, those same families can share Chanukah while enjoying a
holiday during which Americans commonly extend their hospitality for a festive
meal and celebration.
Perhaps sweet potato latkes (potato pancakes are one of the foods eaten
on Chanukah) are in order!
Recently, the Pew Research
Center published “A Portrait of Jewish Americans,” evaluating the results of
surveys that were completed in recent months This study characterized an identity among Jewish
Americans that mirrors the themes of both Chanukah and Thanksgiving, including
consideration of others, an appreciation of freedom, and being grateful for
what we have.
Chanukah, often
called the “Festival of Lights,” commemorates the rededication of the Temple in
Jerusalem as a Jewish place of worship in 165 B.C. after it had been taken over
by the Syrian Greek rulers of Judea three years earlier. The Jews of that time
realized that they needed to assert their right to be different and pride in
their tradition in order to survive.
Thanksgiving's origin
story portrays the process of developing cooperation between European newcomers and Native Americans.
The Thanksgiving
proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War sought to
unify the nation in one celebration of gratitude among all citizens.
Embedded in that
declaration was a hope for an end to the conflict between North and South so
that Americans could turn, once again, to an appreciation for the bounty of the
earth.
According to the Second
Book of Maccabees (in the books of the Apocrypha), the Jews who had retaken and
rededicated the Temple in 165 B.C. in late fall/early winter, decided to
observe the Feast of Booths, Sukkot, the harvest festival that had occurred two
months earlier (before the fighting had ended). In that celebration, Chanukah
took on the same theme of gratitude for the produce of the land which we mark
on Thanksgiving.
The Pew survey noted
that the Jewish community in the United States espouses the values of leading
an ethical/moral life, working for justice and equality, combating hatred,
being intellectually curious, and even having a good sense of humor. While the question "do
you light the candles on Chanukah?" was not part of this study, it is
likely that, in 90% of homes where at least one family member is Jewish, there
will be a menorah burning brightly, perhaps visible to passersby.
The prayer that is recited
right after lighting the candles notes that the lights of the Chanukah candles
are holy, sacred and special.
The glow emanating from the menorah is not to be used for any task or
work. The lights of Chanukah
signify the importance of preserving freedom and of retaining a connection to a
time-honored heritage.
I
recently came across an evening prayer in the Reform Jewish prayerbook as I was
reading through the service with my seventh grade students. These words can voice our
gratitude for what we have, as individuals, as families, and a community:
"We
are called unto life, destiny uncertain,
yet
we offer thanks for what we know:
for
health and healing, labor and repose;
for renewal of beauty in earth and sky;
for
that blend of human-holy which inspires compassion;
for
eternal, promising light.
For
beautiful, bountiful blessing,
all
praise to the Source of Being."
May we ever be
grateful for the gifts we enjoy!
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