A HANUKAH CONTROVERSY

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

 In Jewish practice, the festival of Hanukah celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem to the service of one God after the successful revolt of the Maccabees against the Seleucid rulers of Syria in the 2^nd cent. BCE.  It is customary to light eight candles during Hanukah, one per night.

 The question is this: In which order should they be lit? On this issue, two famous rabbinic schools of the first century CE disagreed. We read in the Talmud:  “Beth Shammai maintains: On the first night eight lights are lit and thereafter they are gradually reduced. However, Beth Hillel says: On the first night one is lit and thereafter they are progressively increased” (BT Shab. 21b).

What is Beth Shammai’s justification? They argued that the candle lighting should correspond to the sacrifices offered during the festival of Sukkot- Hanukah was originally viewed as a second Sukkot-with one sacrifice less each day (cf. Num. 29). The school of Hillel, however, maintained that in matters of holiness we must increase and not reduce.

Hillel’s position makes more sense to me (and that is the Jewish practice today). When it comes to questions of religion and spirituality, even within the context of religious naturalism, we need to realize that, ultimately, faith, which is nothing but certainty of one’s convictions, requires a leap of faith. For, we are all fallible.  However, as we absorb more knowledge about the universe and as we engage in a variety of spiritual exercises, our sensitivity increases, and with that comes a deepening sense of sanctity and wonder for all existence.

 The adding of the candles reminds us that religious conscientiousness is broadened slowly. We build one block upon the other. At times, we stumble, we are burdened with questions; we often struggle with doubts and with answers that do not always satisfy the mind. But, with a faith based on a positive attitude, we plug along, and discover glimpses of lights here and there, finding deeper meaning and purpose in our existential condition. And that spells human growth.

 Have a happy Hanukah.

 

 

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED DURING HANUKAH, BRIEFLY

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

The history behind Hanukah is, briefly, this:

In the second cent. BCE, Antiochus IV, the Syrian king, set out to conquer Egypt. While he was fighting there, Jason, deposed from his position as the Jewish High Priest in Jerusalem, left the Ammonites with whom he had taken refuge, and attacked Menelaus, his brother in Jerusalem, in order to regain the High Priesthood. A civil war broke out between the two, and Jason successfully entered Jerusalem. King Antiochus was furious. On his way back from Egypt, the king attacked Jerusalem, imposed restrictions on Judea, and eventually desecrated the Temple. In reaction, a priest by the name of Mattathias, and his sons (called the Maccabees), fought against the Syrians, and were able to clean and rededicate the temple of Jerusalem to the worship of one God in the year 165 BCE. This rededication is called Hanukah (“dedication” in Hebrew).

The festival lasted 8 days, not because of the so-called “miracle of the oil,”

 (miracles don’t happen)  but because it was considered a delayed Sukkot

(“Tabernacles”) which is 7 days-long, plus Atzeret, a one day festival (See, II Mac.

4:59; Lev.23: 33-36, 39).

 

Happy Hanukah to all who celebrate it.

          For more information, read my article, “Was Hanukah Really a Miracle?” in my book, Did Moses Really Have Horns; And Other Myths About Jews and Judaism, pp. 155-164)

 

 

WHERE DOES GOD DWELL?

 

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 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

 In ancient times, biblical authors assumed that the earth was flat, with Sheol, below the earth where the dead live, and a dome on top of the earth, which was the abode of God (Deut. 26:15; Isa.40:22). Later on, the Rabbis spoke of God as “our Father who is in heaven.” In fact, early Christians referred to three different levels of heaven (II Cor. 12:2): The first was set aside for us humans and animals; the second, above it, for the moon, stars and other planets- some even claimed that this was the living quarters of Satan-, and finally, on top of everything, it is where God resides. 

It was the early Greeks who first convincingly argued that the earth was in fact round. Some claimed it was Pythagoras in the 500 BCE who did this; others attribute this invention to Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician of the 3^rd cent. BCE. Today, it is normative to assume that the earth is round. 

So, where does God live in our universe? 

Some biblical authors maintained that God lives not only in the heavens above but everywhere, both heaven and earth (See, for example, Ps.139:7-8; Jer. 23: 24; Isa. 66:1). 

As a religious naturalist, I do not conceive of God as a “Persona” ( “Theism”) who “lives” in a particular place. I do not search for God or expect to encounter God only in the heavens or the earth below. I do not even understand when people talk about “God’s abode.” For me, God represents the energy, the force, which keeps the universe going, and, as such, God is omni-present in the universe.  The more we know about nature and nature’s mysteries, the more we discover how God operates.

 In my view, God does not verbally communicate with human beings; God does not respond to our pleas or prayers. God does not choose one people over another. God does not reward or punish. God does not change the course of nature by a miracle. As the ancient Rabbis taught, “the universe follows its own path” (Avodah Zarah 54b). Spinoza taught us that God acts by necessity in line with the laws of nature. We humans create a culture in response to the mystery of nature and formulate prayers that represent our inner most feelings and expectations. 

This is religious naturalism that is based on reason, natural law and human efforts. We are Jews because we chose to be Jews and are proud of the culture that we have created over the centuries.