Chanukah is upon us, and the scramble for latkes, sufganiyot, chocolate gelt and, yes, presents can be overwhelming. But we might be forgetting the extent of the scramble we’re celebrating.
As children, we learn the story of the heroic Maccabees, who refused to bow down to the statue of Antiochus, who ruled Israel as part of the Greek Assyrian empire. We know that when Matisyahu, the father of the Maccabees, dies, he is succeeded by his son Judah, who leads the people of Israel to victory over the vastly more powerful Assyrian Greeks. The Maccabees liberate Jerusalem, but to their great sorrow find the Holy Temple desecrated. In the legendary climax, a bottle with enough oil for only one day’s use miraculously lasts for eight days to keep the temple’s menorah lit. The people celebrate, clean up the temple and “rededicate” it to G-d, which is what the word Chanukah means.
The story we typically learn as children ends here, with the Maccabees and the people of Israel living happily ever after. This is a powerful motivational story for the many Jews oppressed by other foes throughout history.
But this is only part of the history of Chanukah. Yes, the Maccabees did enjoy terrific victories at first in their campaign against the Assyrian Greeks. But it was not without great cost to the Hebrews. One of the Maccabee brothers was trampled by an elephant in one of the first battles, and Judah himself was slain shortly after the Chanukah story ends. This throws the rest of the militant Maccabees into disorder, and although they end up casting the Greeks out of the Holy Land, their fighting does not end.
The story that continues after the magnificent miracle of Chanukah is not as bright. Because there is no official successor to Judah, the remaining brothers fight internally and with other Jewish factions, whose views, religious or political, differ from their own. Entire cities are razed, and the country is left in turmoil. No grand, united state is created, nor will the Maccabees ever create one, as the Romans manipulate the divisions among the Jews to conquer all their land one hundred years later.
Now let’s move to modern history. A little over 60 years ago, the Jewish world united to give birth to the State of Israel. Beset by enemies on all sides, Israeli forces won miraculous victories time and again. But today, when Israeli security seems to be at an all-time high in order to protect the Jewish people from its enemies, tensions and violence break out between the divisions among Jews in Israel. Hawks and doves squabble over legislation in parliament. Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jew who disagreed with his policies. Ashkenazim and Sephardim refuse to have their children go to school together. Many young American Jews seem to have lost touch with Zionism, and seem to care little about their heritage, their history and their home.
After the conquest of Jerusalem by the Assyrian Greeks, the Jews split into hostile factions, enabling the Romans to conquer them. And today, with enemies surrounding Israel, the Jewish people have too many factions battling each other from within.
What can all of us do about this? We must take advantage of this family holiday to convey the significance of Judaism as a religion, history and society of people with a heritage unsurpassed among the nations of the world. And we can remember one simple message: We need to stand united. When we fight each other, we are weakened. We weaken our faith in each other, we weaken our faith in ourselves, and we weaken our faith in G-d. We also weaken our ability to withstand the ever-increasing threats of the modern world, both physical and ideological, that continue to seek our destruction. Chanukah is an opportunity to take to heart the values and heritage of our people.
Connor Wahrman, 15, is a sophomore at Nicolet High School and lives in Fox Point.
The Coalition for Jewish Learning is the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
