New Battle, Old Enemy

There is an adage to the effect that those who don’t study history are condemned to re-live it. I always found a great deal of truth in that observation. As a Jew I live with a long history that warns me every day about the mistakes of the past. All too often, however, all of us choose to turn a blind eye to the past believing that this time, as we try something that’s already been tried, we can produce a different outcome. Then we are “shocked” when the result of our efforts result in the same failures that previous generations suffered. Jewish history is to be studied, nonetheless, not only for the warnings it reveals but also for the inspiration it provides.

What people has come through the darkest of times only to be reborn? What nation has stood longer on the stage of history and proved victorious? As we celebrate Hanukkah that lesson is the subtext of our celebration. Against all odds, against all expectations, we stood against a far greater foe to fight for our religious freedom and our national existence. The narrative of Hanukkah is filled with irony—we have studied history well but we are still condemned to re-live it. As we celebrate Hanukkah 5776 we are again at war over the Temple in Jerusalem. While terror attacked continue to threaten the physical well being of Israel, there is another war being waged- the war to rob the Jewish people of our history.

In accord with the “big lie” theory Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, did some creative re-writing of history. Hussein claimed that there had never been a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. He claimed that our holiest site had “always” been a mosque “since the world was created.” This is part of the new war on Israel- the war against Jewish history that seeks to deny our connection to the Land of Israel. It a larger context it seems to be a part of the new world history- destroy and deny all of pre-Islamic human history.

As we light the Hanukiyah we thank God for the miracles of the past. That we are even here to tell the story of Hanukkah is nothing less than a miracle, but we also light the candles to shed the light of truth into a world that can grow dark when lies become truth. In ancient times Antiochus sought to destroy Judaism by denying Jews the freedom to practice their religion. Today our enemies try to physically destroy us- to make Israelis live in constant fear. They also seek to destroy our souls by telling the world that our sacred history is a lie. Only those who already hate will believe such lies, but those who know the truth, those who have a stake in the Jewish past and the Jewish future are today’s Maccabees. Israeli’s are forced to fight for their lives but all of us must fight for truth.