From the Rabbi - November 2002

My Dear Friends,

This month we celebrate two special holidays: Thanksgiving and Chanukah. While on the surface, both of these celebrations seem to be very different - in truth, they are very similar. Both Thanksgiving and Chanukah are festivals that emerged out of historical events that radically changed the worlds in which their creators lived. In addition, both the Pilgrims and the Maccabbees crafted their festivals out of the same raw materials.

Most of us think we know the story of Chanukah: the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days and all that is written on the dreidl. But the truth is, there is more to the story of Chanukah than meets the eye. You see, many scholars believe that when the Maccabees defeated Antiochus Epiphanies in 165 BCE, they wanted to find a way to commemorate the rededication of the Temple. They decided to celebrate their victory by observing the quintessential festival of thanksgiving - Sukkot - which normally took place in the beginning of the year. And so, in the spirit of Sukkot, a new eight day festival was decreed - instead of building a sukkah and waving the lulav and etrog, however, the lighting of lamps was decreed as a symbol of the re-kindling of the menorah in the Temple. Whether or not the story of the oil that miraculously burned for eight days really happened, is the topic of perhaps another discussion.

The Pilgims, in looking for a way to commemorate their first harvest, used the same source as the Maccabees. They too looked into the Torah and found that the festival of Sukkot was the first Thanksgiving. And so, a harvest festival was decreed where special prayers and rituals were created to give thanks to God for the deliverance of the harvest. Both of these holidays were created out of a desire to combine the events of the present with the sacred festivals of the past. The Maccabees and the Pilgrims, while living in vastly different worlds, both understood the importance of giving thanks to God for the many gifts with which we are blessed.

May the feast of Thanksgiving and festival of Chanukah fill our homes with joy, light and gratitude.

B'Shalom,
Rabbi Joseph R. Black

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