Posted on 12/25/2005 5:23:39 PM PST by Zionist Conspirator
Well, with tonight's nightfall the festival of Chanukkah is finally here. And it is because of this, and because of the peculiarly savage nature of the "chr*stmas wars" this year, that I wish to share my thoughts with my fellow FReepers.
In our current climate Chanukkah is simply the first of the rival "artificial" holidays that the forces of secularism have adopted to destroy chr*stmas and the piety it represents. Since I am not a Jew (and am a former chr*stian) this misunderstanding (not only by conservative chr*stians, but by liberals as well) is very painful to me, because I gave up chr*stmas and chose to focus on Chanukkah instead not because "it is my tradition" or because I champion dissent or "freethought" or enjoy poking a finger in the eyes of "bumpkins" (seeing as how I am a bumpkin myself). I know this will be very hard for people to understand in today's ideological mileu, but it was for the sake of G-d and piety that I made this change in my life. This is what I seek to explain.
First of all, unlike some other "holidays" we could mention, Chanukkah is not a recent artificial invention. It is in fact older than chr*stmas and is in fact mentioned by name somewhere in the Gospel of St. John ("and it was the feast of dedication, and it was winter").
And second of all, the true meaning of Chanukkah is 100% opposed to what most people have been told. Let's look at the facts. It celebrates a military victory. Since when to liberals celebrate military victories? And the military struggle of which this victory was a part was not against "bigots" or "intolerant" people; in fact, it took place in a Theocratic context very different from the world that has existed since the 18th century "enlightenment." It was actually a struggle against "enlightened" liberals who sought to change and adulterate the Old Ways. And the liberals were the bad guys! How many times have you heard this before?
Thirdly, the victory of Chanukkah was against the arch-rationalist ideology of Hellenism. The ancient Greeks and those in their orbit (thanks to Alexander's conquering of the world) were the most "open-minded," "scientific," and "enlightened" people in history. They did not begin with an Absolute Truth given as a Divine Revelation but instead began with the obvious and reasoned outward in order to discover "truth." In fact, Hellenistic philosophy was a negation of the deeper Truths that lie beneath the surface in favor of the shallowest levels of reality--in the words of Chassidut, the "garment" in which G-d has hidden Himself and in which He bids us to search for Him. For the Hellenists (as for certain unhappy FReepers who have nothing to live for other than lowering their taxes), this "garment" was the whole of reality. Nothing else existed, or if it did, it was not very important. It is (they argued) the things most obvious to everyone that are the most sure. Any deeper meaning is pure speculation. So alien from the authentic Jewish outlook is this that the Holy Sages compared this Greek reductionism to the very primordial darkness that existed before G-d said "Let there be light!"
And now we come to the heart of Chanukkah, the reason it was instituted by the ancient (and decidedly pious and Theocratic) Sages: the miracle. Does anyone out there know what the miracle of Chanukkah was? The one we hear most about is the miracle of the oil (often by hypocrites who don't even believe it happened), and this was indeed a true miracle, a manifestation of the supernatural. But there was another miracle at that time, and it is this other miracle that is memorialized in the `Al Ha Nissim prayer for Chanukkah inserted in the `Amidah and in the prayers after eating: "You delivered the mighty into the hands of the week, the many into the hands of the many, . . . the wicked into the hands of the righteous." In other words, if the Hellenistic philosophy were true, the Hellenizers would have won and crushed Torah for all time. It is not natural for the few and the week to defeat the many and the strong. That this happened is nothing other than a supernatural miracle that attests that there is a G-d and a spiritual reality beneath what our senses can perceive, and this is the greater part of reality.
Just as Purim celebrates and teaches that, however hidden G-d may be, He is the one Who is always at work in nature and history, so Chanukkah teaches that there is a G-d and that the mere laws of nature which He Himself created cannot but serve him. The Sages teach us that in the coming Messianic era the world will be so inundated with holiness that the holiness of the festivals which G-d established will be swallowed up. But the holiness of the two festivals established by the Sages, Purim and Chanukkah, cannot and will not be swallowed up.
Over the years the meaning of Chanukkah has been ever more twisted and presented as a celebration of ideals little different from those of the French Revolution, G-d forbid. It has in effect become the holiday of the village atheist. How totally opposed to reality this is!
The chr*stians among you understand the duty to "witness." I pray that however much you may disagree with me and my beliefs you will at least bear witness that I am proof that it is possible to so associate simple belief in the True G-d with the Jews and the Torah that one can feel compelled to give up chr*stmas and cleave to Chanukkah instead. However strange this may seem in the confusion of the modern world, it is nevertheless true and I am proof of it.
I do not live anywhere near a Jewish community. Those of you who do, when you see a chanukkiyyah in a window, by a door, or in a public park or mall, please do me one favor. When you look at it, don't think about Thomas Jefferson or the First Amendment or how the sufferings of the Jewish People have taught the world that we can no longer afford Fundamentalist religious beliefs. Instead think of the True G-d, the Unchanging Torah, and the supernatural miracles that have confirmed this in those days, at this time, and acknowledge G-d.
May the flame of the chanukkiyyah illuminate us with G-d's True Light and fill us with piety, reverence, fear of Heaven, fear of sin, and the confidence to trust that whatever may happen, G-d, the True and Living G-d, will in the end win out over all falsehood and all creation will acknowledge him (First Amendment or no First Amendment)!
Chag Chanukkah sameach veqadosh to you all.
By substituting an asterisk for the "i" in Christ, and Christian, ZC is according Christ with the same kind of respect, even though he no longer believes in Jesus Christ himself.
Good post, ZC. I myself celebrated Hanukkah this year rather than Christmas, and I thoroughly enjoyed how well you'demonstrated the un-PC nature of the Feast.
God bless,
It's not any sort of "mark of respect"; he's said previously that he regards "Christ" as the given name of a false god.
I don't entirely understand that, because "Christ" is a title equivalent to the Hebrew "Moshiach", not a name, but so be it.
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But I still say that the USA must either also print Shavu`ot stamps or else open itself up to the charge that it is a chr*stian theocracy! I'm gonna call the ACLU! [/sarcasm]
That's part of the reason. Most Orthodox Jews and Noachides will write it as "X-mas," "X-ianity," etc. But as I have explained over and over and over again (and absolutely uselessly, it seems), I prefer not to use the "X" because I think devout chr*stians should be able to use the "X" abbreviation without feeling that they are acting as though ashamed of their faith. So that they may use it with a clear conscience I take a little extra trouble, but apparently baraonda would rather I just write the X. Is that really what everyone wants me to do? Would that make everyone happy?
Okay, but then you'll all start whining that "X-mas" is a politically correct censoring of the holiday's name. Oh well. I tried!
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