Festival of Light – Festival of Religious Freedom (11/27/13 at Abiding Presence, 8 p.m.)
First night of Chanukah 5774: Thankgiving and Chanukah Message
We take light for granted. Imagine a world without electricity. For most of human history, humanity spent half of its time in darkness. When the pilgrims came to America, they spent so much time in darkness below deck, and then as settlers on this less than friendly shores. So why did they come? Why did they bring and make candles to sustain them through their darkness? Why did they brave the cold winters? For religious freedom. They came from a world that denied them the ability to pray to God the way their hearts needed to pray. We celebrate our religious freedom tonight.
We come into this beautiful sanctuary, Jews and Christians and seekers free to pray to God together, in freedom in this land we love. More than anything, Thanksgiving is a festival of religious freedom. Thank You, God, for those who braved the darkness so that our faith could shine in light.
In 167 B.C.E., 2,180 years ago, God’s temple in Jerusalem knew the darkness of religious persecution. The Temple in Jerusalem had been taken over by Antiochus for idolatrous practice. Jews were denied religious freedom and the holiest place of our lives was polluted and left unclean, our people were killed for practicing our traditions faithfully. Like the pilgrims, Judah Maccabee and those who had the courage to join him, wanted to restore our faith and practices for the people, for God, and for the holy city of Jerusalem; to be a free people, free to practice our faith. Tonight, the 25 day of Kislev, the first night of Chanukah, celebrates Judah Maccabee’s victory over religious persecution. Tonight we celebrate his ability to return our people to our Temple.
The book of Genesis teaches, “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day.” Our tradition reminds us that each day begins in darkness and then light dawns. It is our task to believe that light will come after darkness. And when we live in freedom, it is our task to be a “light unto the nations” and a “light to those who dwell in darkness.”
On that first night in the temple, legend has it that Judah wanted to light the lights that are supposed to burn. The menorah of the Bible is a seven-branch menorah that was lit with oil. There was only enough oil for one night, but the oil lasted for eight, so during Chanukah, we have an eight branch menorah to commemorate the miracle of light. Chanukah is called a Festival of Lights. It is our holiday celebrating our religious freedom, after years of persecution and assimilation. The people who fought for our freedom were called Maccabees. Like the pilgrims, all they wanted was to share their faith in God with their children.
The last time Chanukah and Thanksgiving came together was in 1888. The Washington Post described the fact that due to the sexton’s son coming down with Typhoid and being treated in the basement of the 8th St. synagogue, which was Washington Hebrew Congregation, that the Jews would observe the holiday at home with a traditional American Thanksgiving and the lighting of the candles. The next time this holiday will occur on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, according to a man whose bris I officiated at who is a mathematician, is November 28, 79811. (It will come after Thanksgiving Dinner in 2070 and 2165.)
The Pilgrims and the Maccabees lived in different times of darkness, but shared the same hopes and dreams. They wanted to live in a land where they could have religious freedom and worship God in accordance with their beliefs. As with all holidays, these two festivals of freedom became connected with food. But, more than anything, these festivals of religious freedom are festivals of light shining in a world that still has so much darkness. There are still so many places, even in our great nation, where religious diversity is not celebrated. America is a country for all people, of all faiths and creeds. We must preserve that light in the darkness of bigotry and exclusionism.
We light our candles as symbols of hope and faith and love. Our menorah has eight lights at the end of Chanukah, but always nine spaces for candles. The lead candle is called a shamash. It has only one purpose: to light the other candles. May we each be a shamash, a lead candle, bringing light and peace, hope and kindness into a world that for so many is still filled with darkness and indignity. When we light one candle, we begin to banish the darkness and fulfill God’s commandment, “Let there be light.”
I want to share a poem written by a rabbi almost a hundred years ago:
Everyone must know:
A candle burns within them.
No one’s candle is like anyone else’s.
No one lacks a candle.
Everyone must know:
It is their task to shine that light upon others
And to light it until it is a great flame,
Which illuminates the whole world.
Rav Avraham Kook
We have so much to be thankful for tonight. As a congregation, we are thankful for you, Abiding Presence, for the fact that for decades you have lived your faith and have opened your hearts and sanctuary to us. May God bless you and keep you, and your very special and beautiful pastor, as together we light up a world of hope for our children and generations to come.