A Different Channuka



I have been in Israel little more than a year. Each holiday I experienced here felt richer and more engaging than the same holiday experienced in the states,
save one....... Channuka.

By Israel Kestenbaum

Last year Channuka sneaked up on me. Unlike in my former home in New Jersey where the holiday spirit for both Jews and non-Jews began right after Thanksgiving and where kids are already jockeying for their gifts weeks before Channuka's arrival, here in Israel Channuka slips by almost unnoticed. Oh yes there are the tasty sufganiyot in many a bakery window and the holiday menorahs are lit each evening in the home, but stores don't have display decorations, there is no frenzied gift buying, and an electric menorah is nowhere to be seen.

If I ever wondered about the influence of Christmas on our Channuka
I don't anymore. In the States where Channuka lives side by side with Christmas the holiday is exagerated to meet the needs of the season. Here, in Israel, absent of Christmas, Channuka is the minor holiday it was always meant to be.

Do I miss the Chanuka I always knew? maybe some. But then
I remember, the miracle of Channuka was not just that the oil of the Temple menorah lasted miraculously for 8 days. The miracle was also that they found a flask of pure olive oil in the first place, a flask uncontaminated by those who defiled the Temple for pagan rituals. Here in Israel Channuka while less spectacular remains, like the oil we remember, uncontaminated, pure as a Jewish experience. And thats all I need to make the season special!

Yisrael Kestenbaum