These are the Days of Miracle and Wonder: Hanukkah, the First American Jewish Holiday

We Jews have long struggled to accept the fact that sometimes things are actually good for our people. With a long history of persecution and trauma—not to mention exile and Holocaust—it is very difficult indeed for us to believe it when life seems to be going well. It always comes as a shock when it is not so hard to be a Jew.

The condition of American Jewry today is a case in point. For one of the very few times in our 3800 years of existence we are accepted, respected, and secure. While that may not be a permanent situation (we have learned a healthy level of distrust from nearly four millennia of tzoris) it is a bounty to be enjoyed.

By almost any measure you employ, the Jewish community of America is the most successful and influential in history. The overblown anti-semitic rhetoric of an all-powerful "Israel Lobby" masks the greater truth of a Jewish community that thrives in a land of opportunity. Our deep cultural dedication to education has finally paid off during a high-tech period when learning actually translates to success. The great Jewish involvement in arts and literature has proved particularly positive in an information age in which intellectual property suddenly has even greater value.

Today Jews are proportionally overrepresented to a surprising degree in government—13 Jewish Senators (13%) when we are less than 2% of the overall population—entertainment, medicine, the arts, academia, and law, all influential aspects of society. Our greatest challenge in America is keeping people Jewish and committed to Jewish causes, because our presence is so often requested for every other good cause and interesting activity, all of which are open to us. One of the best ways to do so is by emphasizing those aspects of Judaism that speak best to Americans.

Although it is a 2,172 year-old festival, Hanukkah is actually the first truly American Jewish holiday. Of course, we celebrate a courageous battle for religious freedom that occurred over two millennia ago in Israel, the victory of "the few over the many, the weak over the strong, the believers over the idolaters, the righteous over the wicked oppressors." But in most countries around the world and throughout history Hanukkah has been a minor festival, historically important but less significant religiously.

Here in America Hanukkah struck a chord. No doubt its proximity to other end-of-the-year festivals helped, but the message of religious freedom that is at the heart of the Hanukkah story speaks to an essentially American ideal, the victory over religious intolerance and freedom of conscience. And the lights we kindle near the shortest days of the year help to brighten the night with a vision of hope for the ultimate triumph of freedom for all believers everywhere. Of course, the commercial aspects of Hanukkah connect with yet another deep, if less admirable, American predilection—materialism.

Celebrating Hanukkah nightly by lighting candles, starting December 4th, and joining us for the many Hanukkah celebrations we hold at Temple Emanu-El, is a splendid way to affirm your American Jewish identity.

In a meaningful way, Hanukkah represents our American Jewish success story, a holiday that has reached unprecedented levels of importance at a time when we have also reached unprecedented levels of acceptance. It is a truly a time to celebrate wonders.

L’shalom v’rei’ut, v’Chag Chanukah samei’ach!

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon