Happy Greasy Foods and Fundamentalism Week!
Author | |
Date Added |
I recently saw a meme that made me laugh out loud. It was called “A List of Jewish Holidays for Non-Jews,” and it explained each holiday by encapsulating its essence in plain English. According to this meme, our Jewish calendar includes the following:
Jewish New Year
Jewish Apology Day
Nomadic Hut Appreciation Day
Bible Party Time
Greasy Foods and Fundamentalism Week
Jewish Arbor Day
Dry Crackers Week
Harvest and Also Bible Day
I’ll leave it to you to figure out which is which. Call me if you need a hint!
After reading (and laughing) many times, I decided my favourite is “Greasy Foods and Fundamentalism Week,” which is of course a description of Chanukah. It’s not an altogether bad explanation – after all, we spend the week eating foods fried in oil and celebrating the exploits of the Maccabees. And the Maccabees were, by many accounts, the Jewish strict constructionists of their day. Unlike others, they were not willing to yield on matters like Sabbath observance, circumcision, and worship of other gods. And they were willing to kill for it – both the occupying Greek army, and their fellow Jews who were more lax and whom they saw as betrayers.
In that sense, the Maccabees are uncomfortable heroes for us as liberal Jews. We admire their commitment to Jewish continuity, and we certainly admire their bravery in fighting for freedom and independence. But they do not represent the values of progressivism, pluralism, and tolerance that we hold dear.
This is the paradox of Chanukah. On the one hand, it is a festival of freedom - we are grateful during this time of year for our own freedom to congregate, pray, and live as Jews. And on the other hand, Chanukah tells of the terrible price that we Jews have paid when we have been intolerant of one another: causeless fighting and war, infighting between those who do not recognize the validity of each other’s forms of Judaism. Sadly, this is not foreign to our times.
We can understand that the Maccabees as people of their own time and place. Judah and his brothers – and the armies that they led – loved their Judaism, loved the Jewish people, and fought for their right to be Jews in the best way they knew how – and in the way that the times demanded. They were not modern people, and so we cannot expect modern values of them. Had they lived in twenty-first century Canada, we can hope that they would have held a more tolerant outlook, but that their commitment to Judaism would have remained.
When we read the text this way, we can be inspired by the Maccabees’ bravery and the strength of their Jewish identity, and at the same time we can redouble our commitment to fighting for a Judaism that is progressive, pluralistic and tolerant. We pray that the time may come soon when this dream will be a reality, both here in North America and across the ocean in Israel. When we Jews will celebrate what we have in common, and engage in respectful dialog about what divides us. Then we can transcend “Greasy Foods and Fundamentalism Week” and celebrate a true Festival of Lights.
I hope to see you for the Night of a Thousand Candles on Friday, December 27 at 6:30. May it be a joyous Chanukah season for us all.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Micah Streiffer
Wed, February 19 2025
21 Sh'vat 5785
Update this content.
March 2020
February 2020
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
Bar/Bat Mitzvah: More Than A Service
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
What I Learned About Judaism From Children's Television
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
July 2018
June 2018
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go togeher
May 2018
The Voice of Joy & the Voice of Gladness
April 2018
What I Learned About Pesach From Grade 10 Geometry
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
Bringing Light to the Darkness
December 2017
November 2017
Hineini: Celebrating Jewish Choices
Yom Kippur 5778 Sermon
From Human Being to Human Doing
Kol Nidre 5778 Sermon
September 2017
Have you Seen My Alps?
August 2017
June 2017
Wherein I Reveal the Meaning of Life
May 2017
For Our Teachers and Their Students
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
"Not very Religious" - Rabbi Streiffer's Sermon for Kol Nidrei 5777
October 2016
"Think for Yourself" - Rabbi Streiffer's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah 5777
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
May 2016
June 2016
Don't Ever Stop Talking During Services
April 2016
My Father Was A Syrian Refugee: Pesach And Freedom In 2016
April 2016
Women And Judaism - A Pioneer's Perspective
April 2016
March 2016
March 2016
January 2016
November 2015
An Inclusive Community, A Holy Community
May 2015
Ancient Texts, Modern Lives
March 2015
Breaking Bread, err...Rice, Together
January 2015
Not Very Religious" - Rabbi Streiffer's Sermon for Kol Nidrei 5777
- January 2014
April 2014
Not Very Religious" - Rabbi Streiffer's Sermon for Kol Nidrei 5777
- January 2014
November 2014
April 2013
A Time to Work and a Time to Play
April 2013
September 2013
Privacy Settings | Privacy Policy | Member Terms
©2025 All rights reserved. Find out more about ShulCloud