As the year is coming to its end, we are in a time when our days are short and the night is long. A season where darkness has a definite impact on people. That is why almost every culture, every religion has its own way to celebrate light at this time. I’m sure that almost everyone in America who is familiar in varying degrees with the December holidays - Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa.
Christmas is a holiday that at its origin is religious and commemorates the birth of Jesus. Over time it has also morphed for many people (but not all) into a cultural celebration.
Chanukah, as we know, is a post-Biblical Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after a small group of Jews known as the Maccabees fought back and triumphed against the Seleucid Empire. It is also known as the Festival of Lights. According to Jewish Law it is one of our more minor holidays, but over time its cultural status has risen as a reaction to the majority culture celebration of Christmas around us. Finally, we have Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration held in the US and other nations of the African diaspora in the Americas to honor African heritage in African-American culture. I recognize that I am not mentioning a Muslim holiday, however there is not one at this time of which I am aware. Please let me know if I am mistaken. (Note: all definitions and date checking taken liberally from Google.)
We live in a society that has become increasingly polarized yet three holidays of different cultures co-exist in the same week. The coming of the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, and the feelings engendered by these overlapping holidays, impact even those whose cultures do not have a holy day at this time.
For me, and some others who do not celebrate Christmas, it sometimes feels as if we are outsiders in our own home. There is a party going on that we are not only not invited to but also don’t necessarily understand. That is why it is so important to honor the differences among us. We must truly learn what lies behind the actions (and celebrations) of others before we can determine how we will allow it to make us feel.
By understanding, we can celebrate with and for each other. We don’t need to be the host of the party or of the worship service/experience, but we can be guests at each other’s table with joy, honor and respect.
In reading about Kwanzaa I saw the following suggestion (okay it’s from a Hallmark site but it’s still legitimate):
“This year as your family gathers around your table to place your ancestral cloth, lay the mkeka, place the mishumaa saba in the kinara and light a candle, ask each person to reflect aloud how family keeps us rooted.” I love this quote.
Let’s all emulate this beautiful Kwanzaa suggestion in our own way. Let’s gather around the symbols of our culture and reflect how it, along with family and community, keep us rooted. Let us think about the cultures and celebrations going on around us and acknowledge how they keep others feeling rooted and safe and connected.
This Torah portion this Shabbat, Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1-40:23), continues with the saga of Jacob and begins the Joseph stories. The lessons contained – the importance of family relationships, the do’s and don’ts of parenting, the idea that the trajectory of one’s life can change in a moment – are universal. They are so relevant for this time of year where light and darkness guard our days and our minds. We need to remember who we are as individuals and as a people in order to survive in a world where it has become too easy to become untethered.
I bless all of us with connectedness and sanctity this Shabbat. I wish that we all take in the light of the holiday candles and let it fill all the deep, dark crevices within us – those places within that may not have felt filled with light for a very long time. Let us celebrate together.
I will end with a Hanukah recommendation for a wonderful website that provides us with different Chanukah videos for each night of the holiday (think 613, Maccabeats, etc):
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chaukah, the Festival of Light.
