There is much more to Hanukkah than we normally talk about. From the origin story to the early celebrations and from there to the historical challenges of celebrating and to the themes that emanate today, Hanukkah was never just one thing. In typical Jewish fashion, Hanukkah has always been about at least two truths. That these truths have coexisted in Jewish consciousness and practice is a testament to a hidden light I hope shines brightly this year.
I have been thinking a great deal about the counter-cultural way in which Judaism often holds two truths at the same time. One of my favorites is of Rabbi Simcha Bunim’s pockets. He kept a slip of paper in each one; one slip said, “The world was created for me alone;” and the other, “I am but dust and ashes.” Our contemporary world does not have much space (or, at least not attention) for those who might hold two truths at the same time as Rabbi Bunim.
I say that as someone who works on college and university campuses, which have had contentious climates of late. On campus, I am witness to many instances of people, including Jews, claiming one truth. In a way, that makes great sense: university, literally translates from Latin as “one truth.” Nevertheless, an environment of competing single truths makes it very hard to think critically or to learn.
Now, it is Hanukkah. Is the origin story about intra-Jewish communal disagreements about assimilating into the dominant culture versus drawing a line to protect Jewish identity or is it about a ragtag resistance group fighting off and defeating an imperial army or is it about the miracle of the oil? I hesitate to emphasize any one of those without the others this year.
Regardless of origin, Hanukkah is a festival of light. Did you know that the commandment is actually to light just one candle each night? The ancient rabbis debated how to add more light to enhance it: Shammai said to light eight candles the first night and reduce by one candle each night, just like the oil diminished; Hillel said light one candle the first night and increase by one candle each night just like the miracle became greater and more holy. The Talmud records the debate to make sure we know there was more than one way. Interestingly, even though we light today like Hillel, it is Shammai’s version that gets evidence of practice from the days of the Maccabees.
Throughout Jewish history, Hanukkah has had elements of publicizing and hiding. Dreidel games disguised Torah study, and Jews lit their chanukiyot (Hanukkah menorahs) in windows or in private depending on their degree of fear. When faced with the fear of antisemitism, some Jews chose private lighting and others chose to step into public lighting. Some Jews say Hanukkah should be as big as Christmas, and others that it is a minor holiday deserving much less attention.
Thematically, Hanukkah is both universal and particular. Spreading light into the darkness is universal; celebrating peoplehood as an identity is particular. It is here, though, that I wonder if the particular is really not so peculiar. Just because holding two (or more) truths, even opposing truths, at the same time is found time and again in Judaism, does not mean it is particular only to Judaism. That complexity shows up elsewhere in our world. So, this year, I encourage everyone to find the light, perhaps hidden in complexity, that comes from seeing two sides (or more). After all, God is infinite; and we humans, made in God’s image, are not simple monoliths. If we focus on the light of complexity, we might just see more of ourselves in our hearts, in each other, and in the world.
About Rabbi Jeremy Winaker
Rabbi Jeremy Winaker is the executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hillel Network, responsible for West Chester University, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and other area colleges. He is the former head of school at the Albert Einstein Academy in Wilmington and was the senior Jewish educator at the Kristol Hillel Center at the University of Delaware for four years. Rabbi Winaker lives in Delaware with his wife and three children.
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