HANUKKAH

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Humanistic Ideals for Hanukkah Candle Lighting
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As Hanukkah is a winter holiday, at our all-community party, typically held on a Sunday in Silver Spring, we create an atmosphere of warmth through our Humanistic candle blessings, dreidel games, and other fun activities. We celebrate the oil miracle with our annual potato latkes competition.

As Humanistic Jews, we keep in mind that the Hanukkah story originated centuries after the time of the Maccabees and their victory.  We tell the story of the Maccabees as a reminder of the Jewish people’s struggles, courage, and fragile triumphs.  We look for rational explanations, acknowledge the oil story as mythology, and find some modern applications. The flames of the candles on the hanukkah or menorah are a link to the past and a tribute to the dignity of Jews everywhere. The lesson for us is: how something that is not enough can be enough when there is great human determination.

A modern example could be the Warsaw ghetto uprising. We look at the history of the time of the Maccabees somewhat differently from other streams of Judaism. We know that our definition of freedom today is not what it was in those long ago days, but the story teaches us lessons about the use and misuse of power, religious liberty, and maintaining both group and individual rights.

Judah Maccabee, like his enemy Antiochus may have been, was a religious fanatic who denied freedom of worship to those who opposed him. But he was also a man of integrity who was willing to declare and fight for what he firmly believed.

Hanukkah Candle Lighting Dedications

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If you missed our 2021 in-person event, Hanukkah: A Celebration of Freedom you can watch the recording of it HERE.
Learn the real history of Hanukkah and see our movement’s Jews for a Secular Democracy award presentation. Paul Golin, Executive Director of SHJ, joined in the celebration and was on hand to present the Constitutional Defender Award to Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD 08) for his commitment to the separation of religion and government. Representative Raskin also addressed the gathering, which took place at the Silver Spring Civic Building.

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