December 20, 2024
Earlier this week, as I was running on my Peloton treadmill and taking a running class led by Robin Arzón, a fellow member of the tribe, I was struck by her insight as she was teaching about how we respond to adversity when we exercise. The adversity to which she was referring is the stories we often tell ourselves about what we can and cannot accomplish. She taught, “We are the stories we tell about ourselves.” As soon as she said that, I immediately thought about the understanding of Jewish Peoplehood I have been studying throughout the year. I have come to learn that we, the Jewish people, are the “sum of the stories we tell about ourselves,” words that are strikingly similar to Arzón’s lesson.
As we approach Hanukkah, we think of the story of the Maccabees, who literally fought for our right to religious freedom after the Seleucid Greeks had stripped us of our freedom to practice Judaism and study Torah, while also ransacking and desecrating the Temple. Jews living in that time had a choice to make: they could either assimilate into Greek culture or stand up and not lose their Jewish identity. While some bought into this new culture overtaking the Holy Land, not all Jews would stand idly by and lose their identity. The story we tell about ourselves is the one of the Maccabees, who said, “Enough is enough.” Led by Judah Maccabee, the Jewish community rebelled and, against all odds, defeated the mighty Greeks, restoring the Temple through the miracle of the oil.
Each year in the month of Kislev, we tell ourselves this story as we light the Hanukkiah and play dreidel. The story is one of Jewish identity, Jewish willingness to stand up for our right to practice our faith and not run away from adversity or hide from it. We live in a time where the choices we make are very similar. With so much antisemitism in the world, it would be easy to run and hide. However, it takes an act of faith and courage to lean in and display our Judaism. Whether we wear a Jewish star or place a Menorah in the window, we let the world know who we are. When we do that, we proudly display our Judaism, even when some out in the world might not want us. When we publicly show who we are, it reminds others that we belong too.
The story of Hanukkah is one of resilience: that we can stand up in the face of danger. An Israeli graffiti artist known as the Yiddish Feminist, who is known for placing phrases on the walls around Tel Aviv, wrote earlier this year, “Our wounds are centuries old but so are our resilience and our strength.” (You can find her work on Instagram.) This is the story of what we have witnessed in and around Israel over the past 14 months. Whether it is running to the shelter each day and then picking up and returning to normal life, finding ways to thrive while being displaced from your home, or finding new ways to earn a living with tourists not coming to Israel, Israelis have found a way.
Hannah Wojno, who grew up at Beth Tikvah and has been living in Tel Aviv for quite some time, reached out to me last week to tell me about an endeavor that she and several other women have undertaken. Along with eight friends, Hannah launched a website called www.makersofisrael.com – an online marketplace that provides an easy way for those of us living outside Israel to purchase items made in Israel, including art, Judaica, and jewelry from talented artists. As you visit the website, you will do more than support Israel; you will learn the stories of the artists and celebrate their resilience. If you are looking for any last-minute Hanukkah gifts or are interested in supporting their work, please check out the website.
I want to wish everyone a Happy Hanukkah!
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Rick Kellner