Christmas is early this year. In fact, it begins on the 24th of the Hebrew month of Kislev.
Because of how the Gregorian calendar works, some of Christmas even falls on the first night of Chanukah. Of course, some people say the opposite - Chanukah is late. I suppose it depends on your frame of reference.
Christmas and Chanukah are, of course, two different holidays, belonging to two distinct
religious traditions. The story of Christmas and the story of Chanukah are entirely different -occurring at different time periods, featuring different people, and not entirely emphasizing the same lessons, and so on. At the same time, there is some overlap. Both are festivals that occur in the darkest days of winter, and both feature light as a major theme. Chanukah especially is sometimes called the Festival of Lights. This alone is worth mentioning because these two holidays, along with others from other traditions, talk about spreading light and its associated good feelings like joy at a time of both literal and symbolic darkness. For Chanukah, the literal darkness was how the Greek Seleucids took over Jerusalem and threatened the free practice of Judaism. The light was the light of the Maccabees fighting against the Greek Seleucids and then kindling the menorah, literally bringing back the light of Judaism. Symbolically, the message is that even when times seem dark, when the world is threatening, there is hope that light will come and that just a little bit of light can dispel much darkness.
This lesson is taught through the specific story of the Jewish people’s struggles more than two thousand years ago. However, our tradition has long recognized that its lessons are universal.
Nearly two thousand years ago, the rabbis told a story about Adam. It goes like this.
The Sages taught: When Adam the first man saw that the day was progressively
diminishing, as the days become shorter from the autumnal equinox until the winter
solstice, he did not yet know that this is a normal phenomenon, and therefore he said:
Woe is me; perhaps because I sinned the world is becoming dark around me and will
ultimately return to the primordial state of chaos and disorder. And this is the death that was sentenced upon me from Heaven, as it is written: “And to dust shall you return”
(Genesis 3:19). He arose and spent eight days in fasting and in prayer. Once he saw
that the season of Tevet, i.e., the winter solstice, had arrived, and saw that the day was
progressively lengthening after the solstice, he said: Clearly, the days become shorter
and then longer, and this is the order of the world. He went and observed a festival for
eight days. Upon the next year, he observed both these eight days on which he had
fasted on the previous year, and these eight days of his celebration, as days of
festivities. (B. Talmud Avodah Zara 8a)
By having a winter festival of lights attributed to Adam - the first human being - it becomes universal. Adam observed the shortening of days and panicked. He later learned, “this is the order of the world.” Meaning, this is just the way the seasons work. It has nothing to do with punishment or the end of the world or anything else. Still, he celebrates the eventual triumph of light over darkness with a festival of lights whose timing coincides with Chanukah. Chanukah, Christmas, Adam’s Festival of Lights, are all different. And we shouldn’t diminish their uniqueness. At the same time, there are similar lessons - we can bring light, joy and hope to a world that sometimes seems dark and getting darker.
Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah in the weeks ahead!
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