Primrose Road

Last week, I attended a lecture given by a young rabbi at a club in Murray Hill. (Only in New York ...) He was an engaging speaker, describing many Jews' attraction to Hellenism in the days of the Maccabees (when the Chanukah story took place). Apparently -- at least according to his sources -- the story of Chanukah was about more than little children being put to death for refusing to bow down to Antiochus' favorite idols; many Jews at the time simply bought in to the majority culture, because they found it attractive. In recounting stories about Jews named Jason, he was obviously reminding us that it was important to hold fast to our Jewish identities. But what he seemed to be trying to get across (being a rabbi and all) was that there's no practice without belief. (I'm going to discuss atheism now. Don't look so shocked. Thanks.) As reluctant as I am to link to My Students' Favorite Research Tool as a "primary source" of sorts, I must admit that the Wikipedia entry on Jewish Atheism offers a fairly good explanation of why the term "Jewish atheist" isn't self-contradictory. (The entry's main source seems to be the Society for Jewish Humanism. Humanism as a philosophy is not my glaz'l tea, but their organization does have plenty of positive things to say about being Jewish without believing in or submitting to "supernatural authority.") Can we light the menorah, perform the Passover seder, party at Purim, fast on Yom Kippur, dance on Simchat Torah, learn and speak Hebrew and Yiddish, study Torah (yes, study Torah), walk the streets of Yerushalayim, dance in the streets of Tel Aviv (falafel in hand), study for and celebrate bar and bat mitzvahs, commemorate the members of our parents/grandparents/great-grandparents generation who died horrifically in the Holocaust, without belief? I think so. This Chanukah, let's celebrate our mythology without believing in it. Let's rethink and critique some "ideology" (women's and men's roles, the anti-intermarriage attitude, destiny and bashert, the God who tests his chosen people). Let's love Israel without idealizing it. Let's honor and remember those who lived before us, those who made our lives possible, without praying to a clever ideological construct. Let's (try to) embrace culture and let go of God. Anybody with me? Anybody?

In honor of the Festival O' Lights, I share with you the greatest online Chanukah card in the history of the universe: The greatest Chanukah card in the history of the universe. Click the shamash, the red candle in the middle, to start them all singing at the same time. (They're singing a Hebrew song called "Mi Yimalel.") Or, click each candle individually -- they all have their own "voices" -- and create your own round. My personal favorite is the orange candle on the far left, who serves as the bass line. Here's wishing all of you who celebrate Chanukah a gut yuntif. May your chocolate gelt not be covered in mold when you unwrap it. :)