by Rabbi Ron Stern
California is on fire! Our air is filled with smoke and ash, our pools have become black swamps, our cars are all the same color of ash gray. Homes have been destroyed, lives are disrupted by the chaos. The power of fire to destroy and decimate and undo what has been built, grown from the ground, and even to kill is at the forefront of all of our consciousnesses. And then, in the midst of fire’s chaos we light the lights of Hanukkah. While many of us have our handy electric Hanukkiot, the obligation (mitzvah) of lighting the menorah calls for a live, hot, potentially dangerous flame. Fire is to be tamed to recall the Hanukkah victory and enduring message.
Over 2,000 years ago, the land of Israel was fraught with chaos. The Greek-Assyrians, aligned with sympathetic, assimilated Jews brought Greek religious practices into the Jerusalem Temple. The ancient Jewish priesthood was compromised; split into factions vying for the support of the Greek rulers and power over the Jewish community. Influence and sovereignty went to the highest bidder. The land was on fire, sometimes even literally as the Jewish guerrillas (AKA the Maccabees) fought the encroachment of Greek culture.
Undeterred by the flames of chaos and committed to securing their version of a Jewish future the Maccabees defeated the Greeks and secured the realignment of the Jewish community towards their cause. Jewish kings and queens now ruled the land; the Temple was purified and the community celebrated for eight days. Centuries later, the rabbis attached the lighting of the Hanukkiah to the celebration commemorating the re-dedication (Hanukkah) of the Temple and from that time forward Hanukkah, light, and fire have been linked.
Fire destroys, fire creates, fire-light inspires and uplifts. What a poignant reminder of human power! We have the capacity to use fire for good and it can also bring us to our knees. May this compelling juxtaposition remind us of our responsibility to protect each other and our world from the burning flames of destruction and inspire us to rededicate ourselves to peace, to justice, and the protection of our fragile world.