Thousands of years ago, a particular people lived in exile in their own land. The king, who despised them and everything they stood for, enacted a totalitarian cultural campaign to completely re-engineer their society. He declared their religion illegal, desecrated their temple and erected a statue of himself. Government forces prohibited time-honored customs that the people held dear, drove public expressions of faith from the public square, and even told the people what they could and could not eat. Needless to say, taxation was draconian. Under intense political, economic and social pressure, many of the people conformed.
But others turned to God and stood fast. In the face of colossal odds, they united and were led to victory by Judah Maccabee, who has come to be known as a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty. However, it is neither his military or political victory that Jewish people celebrate each year during Hanukkah. Rather, they celebrate how the people rededicated their temple and the renewal of their purpose as a special nation under God, to be a light to the world.
The founders of America drew inspiration from Israel’s special sense of purpose because they knew that we would be a special nation, a city on a hill, if we held fast to our values of liberty, justice, faith in God, and e pluribus unum (from many, one). They knew that such a great aspiration and destiny could not be regulated into existence by a theocratic government. Instead, they had every confidence that God would lead the nation if the people themselves followed God with all their hearts, minds and strength. Thus, they were determined to protect the rights of the people to freely worship. Surely, it is no coincidence that the freedom of religion is one mentioned in the Bill of Rights.
With this in mind, I wish a very blessed Hanukkah -- not only to our Jewish friends and family, but also to all Americans -- with hope for our nation's rededication to the true purpose and source of liberty and freedom.
