Give up your identity, culture, and faith, or you will perish. This was the ultimatum given to the Jews by King Antiochus Euphanes.
It's an ancient story replaying in our recent history: minority faith groups are sent to reeducation camps in China to unlearn their culture; Native American's made to abandon their indigenous language and culture in the United States and Candada; British colonizers forcibly imposed their culture on new colonies. So the question is fresh for us today.
What must we do when a world leader starts saying identity, culture, and beliefs, do not matter?
Click here to see the video on YouTube.
This month we are celebrating the many ways various spiritual traditions observe the Holy Days. Today we are exploring the Jewish tradition of Chanukah and how the Jews responded to King Antiochus. Chanukah is a festival of lights remembering the rededication of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, a candle is lit on a unique candelabra called a menorah. This year, Hanukkah began on Sunday, December 22, and ends on the evening of Monday, December 30.
Hanukkah means dedication and also commemorates the victory of the Maccabees and the miracle of the one vial of oil that lasted for eight full days to illuminate the Temple. Whether you are Jewish or not, the story may well provide the inspiration you are seeking to know what to do when facing your own trials of identity.
Warm regards,
Edward Viljoen
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
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