Tonight, we light the fifth candle of Hanukkah.
In Jewish professional circles, it’s common to hear these weeks referred to as the ‘December Dilemma,’ with clergy, educators, parents, and grandparents alike trying to determine how best to address the unavoidable allure of the Christmas season. Our sages’ advice on this matter is frank. They encourage us to, “Build a fence around the Torah,” implying a rather rigid set of boundaries around Jewish tradition and ritual that would forbid any forays into the Christmas spirit.
To be certain, such a clear answer helps many Jewish families breathe a sigh of relief. After all, if we let tradition make our choices for us, then the December Dilemma isn’t really a dilemma at all, is it? We need not decide when and where Christian tradition belongs in our homes because the simple answer is—it doesn’t.
For so many of us, however, that answer just doesn’t compute. Whether we live in an interfaith home or merely turn on the radio or television sometime between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, we partake in the culture of Christmas. Determining the appropriate role for Christmas customs within the American Jewish household, then, shouldn’t be considered sacrilegious. It should be considered responsible.
Luckily, there is precedent for precisely such a task in this week’s Torah portion, which features the continuing tale of Joseph. Unlike his brothers, who stroll the fields in solitude with their flocks, constantly reminded of the everyday miracles that God bestows upon us, Joseph instead immerses himself in urbanity—in commerce and trade, in strategy and policy, in the practices and traditions of Egypt. But, despite his immersion in Egyptian custom—including an Egyptian marriage—Joseph’s devotion to the God of his ancestors never wanes. Instead, it intensifies.
Joseph’s ultimate triumph over his brothers illustrates the victory of a choice—to engage with the world, rather than isolate ourselves from it—to engage with the customs of commerce and trade, of strategy and policy, of Christmas music and ugly sweaters, and to emerge with our commitment to Judaism intact, perhaps even strengthened by the experience. So, as the Christmas season arrives, let us dispense with the apprehension that sometimes accompanies this season, and, if it truly makes you happy, eat all the fruitcake you want. You’re still Jewish.
—Rabbi Josh Knobel