Happy Chanukah! If ever there was a year that we needed a reason to celebrate it was this one. The last year and a half has been a long ongoing struggle for so many Jews around the world. From fighting a war on seven fronts in Israel to battling antisemitism around the globe and on campus the Jewish people can be forgiven for experiencing fatigue. Still we carry on, and will continue to do so until every one of our brothers and sisters in captivity have been returned to us.
What has been amazing through the trials and tribulations of the past 15 months is that although we have had our hearts broken we have not allowed that to dampen our spirits. We have celebrated beautiful lifecycle events and holidays throughout. We have not let the perpetrators of evil stop the Jewish people from being Jewish. Now we find ourselves all celebrating Chanukah in the most beautiful ways.
This year due to the confluence of Chanukah falling out in conjunction with the Christian holidays I have found myself being a spokesperson for the Jewish people. In the past few days, I have done eight interviews on cable news programs! So many media outlets want to understand the meaning of Chanukah. My partner Rabbi Elliot Mathias appeared on Fox News and was the lead story on their website and Instagram feed! It was a special chance to create a Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of the Almighty’s name).
In speaking so many times in relation to Chanukah and Israel I found my views becoming somewhat crystallized. Everyone knows about the miracle of the Menorah in the Temple. When the Jews retook our holy temple they found a small container of sanctified oil which should have lasted for only one day but miraculously stayed lit for eight days. Yet, there was a second miracle that rivaled the first.
According to the best political pundits in the world at the time the Maccabees should not have won the war against the Greek empire. The Jews were smaller in number and surrounded on all sides. Be that as it may, we knew that if we fought back against those who were trying to eradicate Judaism, the Almighty would have our back. Indeed, G-d stood by our side and we were victorious against the greatest empire in the world at the time.
Today, our people are fighting a war of good against evil. Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and the list of terrorist proxies goes on, are evil incarnate. They launch missiles at Jewish cities indiscriminately trying to kill innocent men, women, and children. The Jewish people are outnumbered and have no business emerging victorious. Yet, the Almighty is our partner and as thousands of missiles are lobbed against us we remain largely unscathed. It is, of course, a partnership, and we remain incredibly indebted to the bravery and courageousness of the IDF. But we must never forget that it is a partnership: G-d and the Jewish Nation fighting evil in concert.
As this conflict starts to wane we must remember that the enemy is those that seek to harm innocents. We must work hard to maintain the unity that we have created over the past 15 months. Historically the Maccabees ruled the Jewish Nation but eventually were overcome by a lack of unity and infighting which led to the Romans destroying the second Temple. Jews historically have always triumphed over evil that came from without and always crumbled and were defeated by disunity from within.
We must work to love each other. To get along with each other. To embrace each other. That is why Aish has launched our political party called Aish Ha’am in the World Zionist Congress elections. The goal is to promote Jewish unity because that is the secret to Jewish longevity. Please sign up at Aish.com/vote or email us at vote@aish.com to help us with this crucial platform. We all must work to maintain and promote Jewish unity. Ultimately there is no greater gift that we can give our Father in Heaven than to show him that His children love and cherish one another.
