Hanukkah begins on Christmas this yr, marking a uncommon coincidence of the Jewish and Christian holidays, which happen in line with totally different calendars. The alignment invitations reflection on how two traditions can encourage one another.
The Orthodox Jewish neighborhood I grew up in rejected Christmas lights as indicators of undesirable assimilation. We lighted the menorahs in our home windows and doorways for the vacation’s eight nights, protecting the custom easy and understated. Any extra showy shows would have felt like crossing a line.
Nonetheless, as a toddler, I secretly admired the glowing houses of my neighbors. However these lights weren’t for us — or so I used to be taught.
A long time later, I stand in my cul-de-sac and stare at my neighbors’ dazzling residence, with heat, glowing lights wrapped across the bushes. They adorn their residence for Christmas as a result of it brings them pleasure — and, truthfully, it brings pleasure to everybody who passes by.
Aside from menorahs and fundamental panorama lighting, a lot of the Jewish houses on the road keep darkish throughout Hanukkah. We preserve them that approach out of behavior, custom and a lingering perception that vacation lights are “not Jewish.”
My youngsters don’t observe the inflexible boundaries of my childhood, although. Once we drive by means of the neighborhood, they’re drawn to the lights like moths to a flame, urgent their faces towards the automotive home windows and declaring their favourite homes.
“Why don’t we’ve lights like that?” my 12-year-old, Rosa, asks, her voice filled with surprise and betraying a touch of disappointment.
I don’t have a superb reply. Why don’t we?
Vacation lights have greater than aesthetic advantages, signaling community and social connection. Lights can boost mood, cut back stress and create heat, particularly in the course of the darkish winter months. Vacation lights are greater than decorations; they’re a method of emotional well-being. These look like good causes to rethink our traditions.
Judaism, nevertheless, emphasizes differentiation: Observing dietary legal guidelines, protecting the Sabbath and different practices make us stand out, reminding us — and others — of our identification. Critics declare vacation lights blur the excellence between Jewish and non-Jewish traditions.
Christmas lights descend from the candles as soon as used to embellish Christmas bushes, which in flip might have hyperlinks to pre-Christian traditions. Historical civilizations celebrated the winter solstice with evergreens and fires to mark the triumph of sunshine over darkness. Christianity adopted a few of these traditions, and beginning within the late nineteenth century, electrical mild helped the vacation decorations turn out to be a secular cultural custom in Europe, America and past.
Whereas vacation lights have solely turn out to be much less particularly spiritual, they nonetheless carry sturdy associations with the Christian celebration of Jesus’ start. Preserving Jewish identification in a world of cultural mixing takes effort, and a few fear that adopting symbols carefully tied to Christmas undermines that work.
The stress between preserving Jewish distinctiveness and interesting with the remainder of society isn’t new. Hanukkah itself celebrates an historic Jewish victory over the Seleucid Empire, which sought to impose Hellenistic tradition and compelled assimilation in Judea.
However standing out doesn’t require rejecting each ingredient of the broader tradition. Mild, in spite of everything, is common. The Jewish custom makes use of mild as a logo of hope and connection, not least at Hanukkah, usually referred to as the “Competition of Lights.” The menorah represented everlasting mild and divine presence within the historic temple, and Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of a single day’s oil lasting eight. The general public lighting of candles shares our story with the world — recognized in Hebrew as persumei nisa, publicizing the miracle. Even a small flame banishes nice darkness.
Vacation lights might have spiritual roots, however right this moment in addition they deliver pleasure to folks of all backgrounds. For Jewish households, embracing vacation lights doesn’t need to imply celebrating Christmas. It may be a approach of enhancing our personal traditions with a common image of hope and illumination. Utilizing blue and white lights or incorporating Jewish symbols like illuminated dreidels or Stars of David permits households to have a good time their traditions whereas connecting with their neighbors. It’s not about copying Christmas; it’s about marking Hanukkah in a shared language of sunshine.
Jewish custom is already replete with mild. The third verse of the Torah says, “Let there be mild,” emphasizing its centrality to creation. Isaiah calls the Jewish folks “a light-weight unto the nations,” urging us to unfold hope and inspiration. So why restrict ourselves to eight nights of candles? Why not let our lights burn brighter and longer, connecting us to our neighbors and reflecting the fantastic thing about our traditions?
Rising up, we averted vacation lights out of concern of shedding one thing by mixing in an excessive amount of. Now I understand we received’t lose something however darkness. It’s time to alter; it’s time to shine.
Eli Federman is a author and personal fairness investor. X: @EliFederman
