Why Chanukah and Christmas Go Together

My 6-year old son told the story of Chanukah to his Christian classmates in his afterschool German-language lesson, and they made little paper menorahs to hang on their trees at home. The triumph of the spiritual over defilers, the centrality of morality over the lures of transitory excuses, appeals to us all.

The overwhelming majority of Americans are Christian. I’m not in favor of the state funding any religious observances. But, neither should the government deny that the root and strength of our being is in Judeo-Christian morality. Otherwise, our city on the hill is just a transitory moment in the murkiness of history, offering no special light.

Rabbi David Aaron offers this insight:

Albert Einstein once said: "There are two ways of looking at the world: Either you see nothing as a miracle or you see everything as a miracle."

Chanukah reminds us that Judaism sees everything as a miracle. But Hellenism saw nothing as a miracle. To the Greeks, a miracle was an absurdity. To them, only what was reasonable, logical, and rational could be real. Miracles were illogical and, therefore, not possible.

The Greeks could never see the light of Chanukah, the light of miracles, because they only believed in the light of logic and reason. According to the Greeks, the world always existed, it never was created. History is an inevitable process — the present and the future are linked to the past and are the necessary outcome of the past. Nothing unusual will happen or can happen. History will march on, a consequence following consequence. Similarly, their view of G-d or gods was of super-beings detached from the world. Their gods didn't care about man. Therefore, miracles were impossible….

Judaism believes that G-d created the world, cares about us, and invites us to be His partner in making history and perfecting His creation. The Greeks assumed that the world is perfect already. Everything is as it should be. The world is eternal, the events of history are inevitable and G-d is impersonal. Therefore, don't expect any favors, don't expect any novelties, don't expect any divine interventions, don't expect miracles, and have no hope. Life is just one big Greek tragedy.

Therefore, the Greeks wanted to do away with the Jews and their commitment to Torah (religious) life….

There’s, also, another reason that Christmas and Chanukah go together: gifts. This short story about the Chanukah business is typical Jewish humor to convey truths.

“Do people enjoy giving gifts and getting gifts?” he asked.

“Of course,” said Reb Cantor.

“And you can profit from this?”

“Hoo boy, yes,” said Reb Cantor. He was puffing and huffing from the climb up the second hill.

“So,” Rabbi Abrahms said, “I don’t see much of a problem. Sell the gifts, make the money.”

“But,” panted Reb Cantor, “what about the Christianization of a Jewish holiday?”

Rabbi Abrahms raised his hands, palms up. “What Christianization? On Hanukkah you tell the story of the Maccabees. You tell the story of the miracle. You light the menorah. You eat the latkes. You give and get some presents. Where’s the Christian part of that?” “The gifts!”

Reb Cantor coughed. “The gifts.”

Rabbi Abrahms shook his head. “Do you think that the Maccabees ate latkes on Hanukkah? No. Potatoes came from America. Some enterprising potato farmer decided that having potato pancakes was good for business. Who are we to complain? They taste good — except for Mrs. Chaipul’s.”…

Reb Cantor sighed. “I suppose you are right. But how can we avoid doing it to excess. If there’s one thing the Christians do, they go all out celebrating their holiday. It’s crazy-making.”

“Last year I went to the Schlemiel house for latkes.” Rabbi Abrahms licked his lips. “They were delicious. I ate so many that I felt sick to my stomach for three days. You know what? This year when I come to your house to eat latkes I’m not going to eat so many. You have to let people learn from their mistakes and set their own limits. Now let’s go back.”

Without another word, Rabbi Abrahms set down the hill at a jog.
“Wait!” shouted Reb Cantor after him. “Richard also wanted to know how you should spell it in English, ‘Hanukkah’ or ‘Chanukah’!” But the young rabbi was already far down the hill, and Reb Cantor decided that it probably didn’t matter anyway, and set off after him.

One enterprising blogger tried to count the usage of the different transliteration spellings of Chanukah. Hanukkah spelling surpassed the guttural speech of East European immigrants.

I don’t care what you call it, especially if I’m not called late for latkes. Just as long as we all remember and live by what is at the core of our being and meaning.