Hanukkah remains rooted in religion

Alex Coolman

Call it the Other Miracle of Hanukkah: Not the miracle that happened

more than 2,000 years ago in the Temple of Jerusalem when a day’s worth

of lamp oil lasted for eight days, but the miracle that happens every

year in the United States when Hanukkah, a holiday that takes place

perilously close to Christmas, somehow manages to avoid most of the crass

commercialization that goes along with the events of the 25th.

Hanukkah, which takes place Dec. 3 to 10 this year, remains a fairly

low-key and meaningful event, despite the example of Christmas. In part,

this is because Hanukkah, as some local Jewish organizations will discuss

in upcoming programs, is a celebration rooted in a commitment to

religion.

Though Christmas has come to be an extremely secular holiday celebrated

by many people who don’t hold any sort of Christian beliefs, Hanukkah is

an event whose entire reason for being is tied to the persistence of the

Jewish faith in the face of persecution.

The holiday marks the victory of the Maccabees, a group of Jews led by

Judah Maccabee, over the army of King Antiochus Ephiphanes in 165 B.C.E.

Antiochus had cut off the Jews’ right to practice their religion and

imposed many other restrictions on their livelihood.

When the Maccabees retook the Temple of Jerusalem from the king, they

hoped to cleanse the temple of the “defilement” of their Greek enemies.

But only one day’s worth of undefiled oil was available to burn in the

menorah of the temple, and it would take many days to prepare a new

supply.The small amount of oil is said to have lasted for eight days,

however. Today’s Jews commemorate the event by celebrating eight evenings

of Hanukkah -- a word that means “rededication” -- each with its own

candle on the menorah.

Gift-giving is a part of Hanukkah because the holiday is supposed to

benefit the less powerful: children and the poor are often on the

receiving end of this impulse.

But celebration -- of religious freedom and religious community --

remains the strongest note of the holiday.

Local Jewish organizations have scheduled a number of events designed to

bring people together to mark the historic occasion.

Newport Beach’s Temple Isaiah will hold a potluck dinner and its Hebrew

school will present a program on the history of the event. Temple Bat

Yahm plans events for every night of Hanukkah, including a concert of its

children’s choir at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Dec. 5.,

religious school services Dec. 7 and 8 and a dinner for preschoolers Dec.

9.

Among its events, the Jewish Community Center will hold a program showing

preschoolers how to create oil from olives to burn in the menorah and a

cooking course that will teach them to make latkes, the potato pancakes

that, along with doughnuts called sufganiyot, are the foods traditionally

eaten for Hanukkah.

The shopping centers also will be getting into the act, of course.

Fashion Island’s menorah lighting, at 4 p.m. Friday, features a few

musical acts to attract crowds as well as dreidels and chocolate “gelt”

for children.

For many members of the Jewish community, though, this is less a time for

emptying the bank account on lavish gifts than for performing the simple

rites that are associated with Hanukkah and remembering their historical

significance.

Jerry Rapier, a Garden Grove resident and member of Temple Isaiah, said

the period in his household has more to do with prayer than purchasing

power.

“We no longer have kids at home,” Rapier said, “so as far as we’re

concerned we basically light the Hanukkah menorah.”

Rapier explained that three prayers went along with the ceremonial

lighting.

“There is one that thanks God for keeping us alive and allowing us to

arrive at this occasion, one that praises God and acknowledges his

commandment to light the Hanukkah lights. And the third is praising God

for having performed the miracles of Hanukkah,” he said.

Ann Brown, a Costa Mesa mother of two and a member of Temple Isaiah, said

she gives her children gifts, but had recently decided to change the way

she approached the holiday.

“Just this year we said, ‘You know what? We’re not going to do a big

thing with presents,”’ Brown said.

Brown characterized her old approach to Hanukkah as “a lot more

materialistic,” with elaborate gifts doled out on each night.

This year, though, the approach will be different. “We light the candles,

and we use a homemade menorah,” Brown said. “We buy the coolest candles

we can find.”

Brown’s children -- 11-year-old Harrison and 9-year-old Rebecca -- will

receive money, but not too much money.

“When I was a child, that was all we ever did,” Brown said.

The point of the change, she said, was to emphasize what was important in

Hanukkah: the time the family was able to spend together and the

spiritual connections the rituals helped forge with the events of the

past.

“We don’t need [more elaborate proceedings] to symbolize that it’s a

holiday, because it’s in our hearts,” Brown said.

“We don’t go overboard. We just want the kids to be understanding that

this is their heritage and this is their tradition.

“All this needs to mean something,” she said. “I don’t just want to go

through the motions every year.”