Hanukkah and Assimiliation: Ba-yamim Ha-em U-vaz’man Ha-ze

(a discussion led by Maayan Lev on December 17, 2022)

This week’s parashah is Vayeshev, which begins the story of Joseph. But on top of what’s happening in the Torah this Shabbat, it’s also Hanukkah tomorrow night. So what do these two narratives have in common?

In both narratives, Israelites (children of Jacob) felt their way of life was threatened, and in both narratives, the party that seemed to threaten them was expelled from the land. In parashat Vayeshev, the threat was Joseph, or at least it was in his brothers’ mind. Joseph has a dream of his brothers bowing to him, and his brothers feel threatened, asking him, “הֲמָלֹךְ תִּמְלֹךְ עָלֵינוּ? Do you mean to rule over us?”^[1] And so, they sold him as a slave bound for a foreign land.

In the Hanukkah narrative, the threat was the Seleucids, commonly known as the Greeks. The story says that the Maccabees fought a war because the Hellenistic (Greek) culture was threatening their Jewish way of life. And so they fought a war, and expelled the Greeks from the Temple and the land! In both stories though, the Israelites were actually harming some of their own people. Joseph was the brothers’ flesh and blood! And as for the Maccabees, they fought against their fellow Jews as well as Greeks, those who were comfortable with Greek culture permeating into Israelite society.

And so, as Jews living as a minority in a land that we nevertheless call home,

Let’s consider:

• What non-Jewish practices have Jews picked up through living in America?
• Are these practices a threat to Jewish living (if practiced by Jews)?

 There are so many practices we could list. There are traditions surrounding Christian holidays like Christmas. Is it ok to attend a Christmas party and enjoy yourself? There are also pagan holidays like Halloween that have evolved into something more secular. Is it alright to dress up for Halloween, or is that only acceptable on Purim? And then there’s Thanksgiving, which does not seem like a threat to Jewish living yet is still opposed by some Jews because they feel that America is not really their true home. Do you worry about sending your children to public school because they might befriend mainly children from other cultures? It may seem like a rather intolerant thought, but our ancestors certainly had these concerns.

I, for one, love all of the practices described above, and have no problem admitting it. To me, celebrating with our friends and neighbors (as well as other-faith family members) is not a threat to our way of life. But then again, perhaps for someone without a strong sense of Jewish identity, it would be. Some people might say that it’s not a problem either way.

Everyone needs to figure out their own limits, and draw their own line in the sand. How do we strike the appropriate balance? And is there ever a time when we, like Mattathias and the  Maccabees, will decide that things have gotten so bad that it is time to make a change?

The Maccabees were fiercely attached to Judaism to the degree that they would rather die than see their fellow Jews converted into Greeks. While that sounds rather extreme, Hanukkah is much more than a festival of light and happiness. It is a time to assess our Jewish identity and to consider if we are happy with the level of Judaism in our lives right now. It is also a time to think about antisemitism, but that often leads us down a rather negative train of thought that isn’t in line with the positive holiday spirit of Hanukkah. (Perhaps such cheery Hanukkah connotations are an evolution of the holiday influenced by Christmas, but that doesn’t need to be a bad thing.)

And so, rather than wage a war on people of other cultures, if we feel that we desire a stronger dose of Judaism in our lives, we should ask ourselves what we can do to enhance our connection. May we always find a way to bring light into our lives, and also to the lives of others.

Happy Hanukkah, and indeed, happy holidays to all!

^[1] Genesis 37:8.