When we light a chanukiyah, we
are supposed to publicize the miracle it represents by putting it in a window
facing the street. Chanukah’s message is
one that is to be shared with everyone.
It teaches us that we are not to “yield our true faith even when
confronted with overwhelming forces.”
(Rabbi Abraham Twerski) The Chanukah revolt was not about military
might. It was about revolting against
the tyranny of religious oppression. The
Jews who faced the Syrian-Greeks were not threatened with extermination, rather
assimilation. They were being forced to
reject Jewish ways and to embrace Hellenistic ways. They knew that Jewish survival was paramount
in their lives. They knew that if they
only had physical freedom without spiritual freedom, life would become
intolerable.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we
lived at a time when every individual would feel free to express their
spiritual beliefs without fear of reprisal or repression. If that were the case, then perhaps we would
not need to publicize the message of Chanukah nor even make a point of
remembering its message because it would no longer be relevant. But the truth of the matter is that
Chanukah’s message is still relevant.
As
Lincolnites, we know that 3000 members of the Yazidi community originally from
Northern Iraq now live here because of the religious persecution they suffered
at the hands of ISIS. Their persecution
however has gone far beyond the recent attacks by ISIS. Prior to August 3, 2014 when the ISIS forces
came to slaughter them because they felt they were “devil worshippers” they had
been marginalized in Iraqi society and forced to live impoverished existences
due to their belief system.
We have
heard Mike Eppel talk to us and show us pictures about the Rohingya refugee
crisis taking place in Myanmar. As the Berkley Center of Georgetown University
wrote, “ Over 500,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed the border into Bangladesh
since violence erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine state in August 2017. Thousands
more are arriving every day by boat and over land. Rohingya refugees and
international observers claim that the Myanmar government is pursuing a brutal
and unwarranted crackdown against innocent civilians in Rakhine, using
counterinsurgency as a false justification for its actions. Unfortunately, this
situation is precedented—the Rohingya have long suffered persecution at the
hands of the Myanmar state, which denies them citizenship on account of their
religion and ethnicity.”
Living in America, we might not
be cognizant of the fact that Christians are facing persecution in various
parts of the world. The Open Doors
Organization tracks Christian persecution stating that of the
2.48 billion Christians worldwide, approximately 215 million or 1 in every 12
Christians in the Top 50 countries of the World Watch List, is considered to be
suffering from “extreme” levels of persecution.” . According to the Watch List, North Korea and
Afghanistan are the top two countries where Christians face violent persecution.
Christianity with its large number of adherents now holds the distinction of
currently being the world’s most persecuted faith.
Of course, I
have not even attempted to talk about those who still desire the elimination of
Jews on the world-stage. Anti-Semitism
as you know is not a topic that one must read about only in a history book. Even with the State of Israel serving as a
haven for those who have been persecuted in their homelands, we know that even
in this country we are upping our talks about security in synagogues because we
take seriously that pockets of hatred can lead to violence.
My examples
of religious persecution are not all encompassing. “The ninth annual Pew Research Center report on
global religious restrictions, released in June 2018, shows an increase in the
percentage of countries with high or very high levels of state-sanctioned
religious repression, the highest percentage since 2013. This rising tide of
persecution knows no geographic or sectarian boundaries; it afflicts religious
believers of virtually every faith, on every continent.”
It is
important for us to remember that what we are celebrating via Chanukah is that
we have the right to be ourselves even against great odds in a world that has
often desired to see our non-existence. And similarly, others have the right to
be themselves even against similar odds. What I love about Judaism is that our
definition of religion, is that if religion makes you an agent of evil, then it
is avodah zarah (strange worship). The
message of Judaism is that “ WE HAVE TO BE WHO WE ARE IN ORDER TO RELATE TO
OTHERS…AND WE BELIEVE SPIRITUAL FREEDOM IS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT FOR ALL PEOPLE
NOT ONLY FOR US.” As I said earlier, the
message of Chanukah is still relevant today.
Physical freedom without spiritual freedom would make life intolerable.
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