Sunday, December 1, 2013

HANUKKAH IN AMERICA by Dianne Ashton

Good morning, Blog Buds, and Happy Hanukkah!
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I picked this one out at NetGalley when I remembered Hanukkah was on the way.  This is more than just a book about a holiday.  It's a book about the Jewish people and faith in the United States.  Freedom of Religion here has enabled the Jews here to develop in a way unique, but still connected to their ancient roots in Israel.  At the same time, they've had to work at keeping it together midst cultural distraction.
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As I began reading this one, I was reminded of the Amish.  They've also managed to keep a distinct faith and culture over a couple of hundred years in the American Melting Pot.  Besides that, Jews don't go out and actively preach at people, trying to get them to convert.  Like the Amish, they share their faith by *example.*  I so respect that.  I'm content in my own faith, but I grew up around a lot of Bible-banging loudmouths who preached love and then treated people like crap.  That's why I call Sundays here 'Living It.'  There is authentic faith to be found, but you gotta look for it with a pure heart.  Anyway...
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The two most difficult things for me to understand about Hanukkah is how to spell it (I have to look it up every single time!) and when the exact dates are.  This year, it started on November 27th and will end on December 5th.
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This book explains how Hanukkah began.  Sometimes it's called the Festival of Lights and it celebrates the rededication of the Temple at the time of the Maccabean revolt during the second century, B.C.
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The Hanukkah menorah is a candlebra with eight branches, plus a ninth one, the tall one in the middle.  The ninth one is for practical light, because the others can't be used for anything other than the ceremony.  The story goes that the holy temple had been desecrated by a foreign invader who set up an idol and sacrificed pigs.  (Pigs are unclean under Jewish law.)  After the temple was liberated, it needed to be cleansed and rededicated.  During this time, there was only enough oil for one light, but the oil lasted eight days.  And so the temple was cleansed and rededicated.
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This book explains how American Jews have looked at this ancient story of faith and interpreted it and celebrated it from their point of view as Americans, like the part of liberating the temple.  Freedom from oppressors is a very big deal here, you know.
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This is probably why the story of Moses is so big to us that we've made several movies based on it, Moses leading the Children of Israel out of slavery and into freedom in the Promised Land.  We totally get that.  After all, that's why the Pilgrims came there, to escape oppression and live in freedom in a land of promise.  The sad thing about that is they didn't always offer the same freedom to others and Jews have been periodically persecuted throughout our history too.
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Nevertheless, the Jewish faith had the freedom to flourish here and also they had the issue of being so free that there were few boundaries between them and regular American culture.  How do you hold on to your own culture?  Well, you split off into a bunch of denominations as  you try to adapt.  This can be distressing, as it has been for Protestant Christians off and on.  And there is a nice, long history of the Jewish faith enduring and adapting here.  One way was to make Hanukkah more festive for the children, for the children are the future.
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This is a wonderful book, a personal history of Hanukkah every American should own.  Any one of us on a spiritual journey can relate and learn from this story, which can only enrich our souls.
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Much love.
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Oh, wait.
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I mean...
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Shalom.

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