The Political Incorrectness of Chanukah

I know that the above title will get some PC liberals attention & get them up in arms before they even read a word of this post. & by doing so will prove the very point of the article by Michael Medved makes. The title, The Real Hanukah: A Celebration of the Religious Right, will add to their agita. & if they bother to read the article they will get even more upset. Why? Because the point he makes hits them right where they live by proving the shifting sand their PC garbage rests on.

So what does Mr. Medved say in the article, in a nutshell he gets back to the real meaning of the festival, "when religious zealots, exalting the values of “that old time religion,” came into the Temple in Jerusalem and drove out all alternate, “creative” forms of worship." Ouch! Doesn't sound like a celebration of the victory of tolerence over intolerance, does it? "Actually, far from celebrating “diversity” or “tolerance” or “respect for every faith,” Chanukah or Hanukah (the name means “dedication” in Hebrew) marks a singular display of intolerance."

"While frequently (and fatuously) described as a “celebration of tolerance,” Hanukah is more properly designated as an annual re-dedication to the values of the Religious Right." So, why do some people label it as a "celebration of tolerance" instead of seeing it for what it really is? To answer this we need to go back to the real story of Hanukah. There, as Mr Medved points out, we need to answer 2 questions: "Who are the bad guys in the Hanukah story? And who are the good guys?"

The best source for information can be found in 1st & 2nd Maccabees found in all Catholic & Orthodox Bibles as well as any Protestant Bible with the Appocrypha. As Mr. Medved points out there are also many extra-Biblical sources of information also from various historians of that era.

The story actually begins 2 centuries before the events told about in Maccabees. In 323 BC after his death, 3 of Alexander the Great's Greek-Macedonian generals divided the empire up between themselves. 1 of the generals, Seleucus, took over the part of the empire that would eventually include Israel. In about 175 BC Antiochus IV ascended to the Seleucid throne. He added the name Epiphanes (the shining one), a sign of his ego. He decided to totally wipe out any culture but the Greek culture. He forbade the Jews to circumcize their sons, required them to eat pork, & to worship Zeus. To aid in this later, he ordered the desecration of the Temple in 167 BC. To many devout Jews that was the final straw.

At this point a Jewish priest, Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah lead a rebellion of those who did not want to bow to Antiochus' wishes. Judah, because of his great skills as a leader was given the nickname Macabee (the hammer). They began fighting against not only the invaders but also the "Hellenizers, those Jews who willingly cooperated with their conquerors. As Michael Medved describes it they "junked the demanding faith of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for the trendy, hedonistic, easy-going relativism of Aristotle, Alexander and Antiochus."

These Hellenists could be described as the forerunners of todays relativists, all beliefs are equal & we need to celebrate their diversity. But, like now, that included the orthodox faith, Judaism then, orthodox Christianity now. In the name of tolerance they were intolerant towards those of that day they considered conservative the Religious Right of their day.

By 165 BC, after the death of both Mattathias & Judah, the Seleucid rule was overthrown. The temple was cleaned out & a new altar built. According to the Talmud, there was only enough oil to burn in the lamp for 1 day. But they went ahead with the dedication of the new altar. The oil miraculously burned for the 8 days it would take to prepare a fresh supply of oil. Since then the 8 day festival has been celebrated to commemorate this event. (In 1 Macabees it desn't mention the oil, only the 8 day celebration of the rededication of the temple.)

As Mr. Medved describes the events, this "Hasmonean Revolt" saw the "Jewish “Puritans” win "an unlikely triumph against those who embraced or accommodated “enlightened” Greek culture." Sounds a lot like the culture wars of today doesn't it?

This isn't only my opinion, but Mr. Medved's with which I agree. He says: "Anyone who takes even ten minutes to read the actual history of the Maccabean revolt will see similarities between its priestly leaders (most conspicuously, the great commander Judah Maccabee, son of Mattathias) and today’s prominent figures in the Religious Right. The Maccabees insisted on re-affirming ultimate right and wrong, and saw their battle as part of a timeless struggle of good and evil. They demanded a return to the old ways, to the authentic, uncompromising laws of God and the Torah, and they felt only contempt for the Hellenizing modernists who fought against them. The rebels represented the common people – the poor and the humble artisans and the struggling farmers who remained loyal to the ancient faith – while their enemies represented the pampered urban elites, over-educated in the cosmopolitan ways of Judea’s Greek overlords."

"At an odd moment of history when many leaders of the Jewish people are again displaying the ancient, Hellenistic fascination with homosexuality, humanism, relativism and diversity, it’s not surprising that many left-leaning sects and organizations want to hide the genuine themes of Hanukah. But at a moment when both America and Israel face crucial cultural conflicts that echo the holiday’s ancient struggles, those who know the truth need to broadcast the light of the long-ago miracles and affirm our annual rededication to authentic and undiluted faith."

This is true, not only for Jews but also for all of us who take our Christian faith seriously.

(Michael Medved is speaking from the viewpoint of a traditional Jew who takes his faith seriously. He has also been very outspoken over the years about what is wrong with our culture.)

HAPPY HANUKAH!

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” — Psalm 122:6a

Hanukah begins this year at sunset tonite (15 December 2006). For more on Hanukah, its meaning, & customs can be found at EverythingJewish.com.

PS As a Roman Catholic I see Papa Benedetto & Cardinal Arinze as leaders who are following the example of the Macabees to see that the Church is what it is supposed to be . They are "exalting the values of “that old time religion,”and are working to drive "out all alternate, “creative” forms of worship." They speak out against the evils of today which are amazingly similar to those at the time of the Macabees, sexual licence, acceptance of homosexual practices, relativism, etc. & I see the story of the Macabees in the Bible as an assurance that if we follow their example & let God lead our attempts to overcome the evils of today will succeed as well.