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Rabbi Tells Jews to Return to True, Modest Hanukkah

United Press International

Bright lights on big trees topped by majestic stars spark a rush of yuletide spirit across America. But for the nation’s nearly 6 million Jews, the towering signs of Christmas can lead to a dwarfed sense of identity.

Wowed by the season’s high glitter factor, many now integrate lavish gift-giving and trees into the eight days of Hanukkah, turning the modest festival of lights into a Jewish version of Christmas.

But one rabbi says that if Jews remembered the true meaning of Hanukkah, which began at sundown Friday, they would be content to stick with their own tradition.

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“The convergence of Christmas and Hanukkah should not become an occasion for alienation between Jews and Christians,” said Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, director of international relations for the American Jewish Committee. “On the contrary, I think both face a common moral dilemma as a result of the vast commercialization of both holidays that has taken place.”

Tanenbaum is well aware that Christmas overshadows Hanukkah in the stores and in the streets, but advises those Jews who feel overwhelmed to hit the books instead.

“My response is to ask Jews first to study the history and the meaning of Hanukkah,” he said. “Hanukkah was always a beautiful, but quite modest, holiday. It focuses primarily on the lighting of the candles and the inspiring story of how the Maccabees fought the first struggle in human history for religious freedom.”

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The Maccabees, a small group of Jewish believers in ancient Palestine, battled the Syrian empire when it tried to impose Hellenistic civilization on them and defiled their house of worship.

The menorah--which usually holds nine candles, one for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, plus the shammas, used to light the others--became the central symbol of Hanukkah because, as the story goes, the Maccabees arrived at the destroyed holy temple and found only one small cruse of sanctified oil, enough to burn one day.

A miracle took place, and the oil burned for eight days in the temple, enough time to prepare additional volumes of oil so the lamp in the temple never went out, in keeping with sacred Jewish law.

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“The lights were a sign of God’s presence,” said Tanenbaum. He said that Hanukkah’s tradition of gift-giving was not meant to be the overindulgence of children.

“It was to give gifts to the poor. The central theme was not spoiling kids but to instill a deep sense of social responsibility. I think that holiday has to be recaptured.

“Rather than spending $400 on toys that are discarded in a week or a month, give the children money and let them give it to the poor or the homeless.”

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