Heading into December, our thoughts turn to many things, Christmas holiday music from every speaker in the mall and on TV, thoughts of the New Year before us and for the Jewish community, we think of the Festival of Lights or Chanukah. I want to share a few thoughts about Chanukah with our community.
To begin with something fun and perhaps frivolous, I want to share some photos related to Chanukah and one might be moved to ask, “Rabbi, it’s the Festival of Lights! Where is the Chanukiya (Menorah)? What’s with the doughnuts”? Let me explain. For sure the Chanukiya is very much the symbol of the holiday. As we add each night one more candle, we increase light and raise the level of joy. As we observe the mitzvah of the lighting of candles, we recall the miracle of the oil, that lasted much longer than it should have. In that tradition of recalling the miracle of the oil, we eat food fried in oil. If you come to my home during the Chanukah holiday, you have every chance to be treated to a fried foods feast. Schnitzel (with fresh squeezed lemon and NOT catsup) and latkes are mainstays. Latkes can be made from many sources, sweet potato or yams or zucchini. I prefer the classic of potato and onion and lots of sour cream over it. The applesauce topping hits me as an error and definitely not done by the people from my side of the river. 😇 Now, if you have spent any time at all with me after services then you know several things about me. You know that our gathering together and sharing conversations and nibbles is something I much look forward to and enjoy. I enjoy sharing a story, some torah and news of the day and I much value hearing the stories of others. But above all, if you’ve watched me, you know I’ve yet to meet a pastry or sweet or butter/dairy fat I didnt like.
Fried foods go with Chanukah and sweets go with Chanukah. In my days as a Rabbinic Student in Jerusalem, I encountered ספגניות-sufganiyot-doughnuts. And not the marginal product we get here called sufganiyot, but some truly good product! You can see in one of the pictures the large display of sufganiyot. Bakery after bakery proudly displays their best and finest for sale. In the name of celebrating the Festival of Lights, I tried as many varieties as I could. All in the name of holiday observance and research, of course. Here are a few ‘take aways”. First, the Israelis devote serious time and effort to their sufganiyot products. They mix and match an almost limitless blending of fillings, icings and toppings. My friends, let me assure you, these products are (חס ושלום-‘heaven forbid’) not low-calorie/high fiber diet food. Au contraire!! These Israeli delectable delights are the polar opposite of healthy dining. They are as הקדוש ברוך הוא (the Holy One Blessed be he) intended them to be enjoyed. Lots of sugar, fats and more sugar with some carbohydrates holding it together. In the picture of the 3 sufganiyot on the plate, you see the large plastic tube sticking out of the sufganiyot? This is Israeli ingenuity at its best and finest. The sack is filled with chocolate syrup. One squeezes it and injects the extra chocolate directly into the sufganiya for additional chocolate, extra sugar and increased joy and enjoyment. Finally, I do feel I owe a report on my research for the best tasting blend of filling and icing. In my humble opinion and sweet tooth, the sufganiya with chocolate icing and filled with halvah was the best of the best. Was it totally ‘over the top”? Yes, absolutely. Was it amazingly good, totally Israeli and demanded not one but 2 per serving? Definitely yes.
Let me finish with a more serious note about the Festival of Lights. In the Talmud in tractate :שבת דף כא-Shabbat page 21b, the laws of Chanukah candle lighting are debated and reviewed. The sages attempt to reconcile the many customs and habits. From their discussion we get the direction to start with one candle and go UP to eight, so we increase sanctity and not reduce it. On that same page our sages ask a rather simple question but a clearly important one: מאי הנוכה?? What is Chanukah? They are asking in the text and their discussion, what is this observance and why are we doing it? It’s a basic and yet very good question.
In the month of December, I take part in an Inter-faith program at Crespi Carmelite Catholic High School in Encino. For the hundreds of young High School aged men and the faculty of the school, I answer that question. The answer goes like this, and I promise you will hear me expound on this again and again, because I believe with all my heart, it is important. In the time of the Maccabees and the breakup of the empire of Alexander the Great, the dominant culture was that of the Greeks. That includes all the scholarship, culture, folklore and pantheon of gods the Greeks are deservedly well known for. That culture and pantheon left no room for the practice of Judaism nor retaining the Jewish culture of the time. The easy path, the path of least resistance would have been to assimilate into the larger Greek world, culture and faith and way of life. To hold out against this tide was futile and most of the Mediterranean world had already surrendered to it and embraced it. The Jews of the land of Israel, under the leadership of the Maccabees demurred. They resisted assimilation and being absorbed into the Greek culture and world. They resisted because they believed in Our Father in Heaven and not the Greek pantheon and they believed in the “peoplehood” of the Jewish people. They fought a violent and bloody war to maintain their unique faith and unique identity. Because they did, we are here today, lighting the Chanukah lights, from 1 to 8, increasing in holiness and joy each night of the holiday.
My wife Judy joins me in wishing our entire community and the Jewish community around the world, a joyful and meaningful Chanukah!!
Rabbi Ron
