America
Hanukkah and the Battle to Destroy
Hamas The holiday’s eternal message inspires us to shine our light and triumph over evil, says
Rabbi Pinchas Taylor. T
he hanukkah story took place during the time of the Second Temple in the Land of Israel, but the patterns of history continue to replay today.
Just as the “Festival of Lights” commemorates the vic-
tory during a dark period for the nation of Israel, so, too, God will bring victory over Hamas, and forever bring light and salvation to His people. There is an ancient conflict known as “Athens vs. Jeru-
salem.” Ancient Greeks created a culture where the human being was glorified as a purely physical specimen. The Greek gods were projections of human nature. The
Olympics glorified the body as the ultimate, and Greek art is infatuated with physical beauty. This led to a soulless and soul-less worldview, filled with self-indulgence and immorality. In contrast, Judaism believes in a purposeful God, who
created man and endowed him with a soul made in the Divine Image. Leading a life focused on transcendence helps facilitate
a soulful existence filled with selflessness and morality. It is the exact opposite of the Greeks, hence, Athens vs. Jeru- salem. In the story of Hanukkah, King Antiochus and the Greek Hellenists believed their worldview was superior to one based on God and faith. They wanted to replace the faith of the Jews with Greek rationalism, so they defiled their Tem- ple and forbade the observance of any of the superrational Jewish commandments. Hanukkah commemorates how the Maccabees, a small
and ragtag group of faith-adhering soldiers, defeated the large and well-equipped army of Syrian Greeks. This victory culminated with the Temple being reclaimed, cleaned, and rededicated. The Hebrew word Hanukkah means “dedica- tion.”
Another miracle occurred when a small jug of sealed oil, 34 NEWSMAX | DECEMBER 2023
which only had enough for one day of lighting the menorah — the candelabra used in the daily Temple service — lasted for eight days. This was long enough to procure more sacred oil and
allowed the Temple’s service to continue uninterrupted. Hanukkah really marks the victory of a God-centered
worldview over rationalism, naturalism, and materialism. The military victory is commemorated by lighting eight lights over eight nights every year, symbolizing the triumph of spirit over matter and light over darkness. These victories are relevant as Israel responds to the bar-
baric terror attacks of Hamas. On one hand, there is a physical victory that needs to take
place, namely, that Hamas must be defeated. But there is an ideological or spiritual battle that was unmasked by the October attacks when a significant number of people in the West sided with Hamas. The aims of Hamas are more heinous than in the Hanuk-
kah story, in which the Jewish mind and spirit were attacked. If a Jew abandoned his belief in the supernatural, he was permitted in Greek society. But Hamas does not just attack the Jewish spirit — it
seeks to annihilate a person just because he or she is a Jew. The degree of religious belief is irrelevant; if you are a
Jew, you are a target. The United States and the West need to also remem-
ber that terror groups like Hamas harbor the same hatred toward all of Western civilization. Like the battle of the Maccabees, we will emerge vic-
torious in this physical war, but the ideological battle will continue. Support for Hamas is seen on a number of college cam-
puses, from the most prominent schools, like Harvard, to the most obscure. These once great institutions are, like the Greeks, devoted
to reason but devoid of morality. They have become cess- pools of antisemitism and hedonism. This is a battle between good and evil, light and dark-
ness. Today, a legacy of the conflict between Athens and Jerusalem in its modern form is an ideological chasm over lawfulness and goodness. Are the rules that govern human life endowed by our Cre-
ator, or by the whims of human beings? I am optimistic about the fight against Hamas. The arche-
type of light over darkness has traveled steadfastly through history and remained consistent. I am a believer in the Hebrew Bible, which reveals that in
the end, victory will be on the side of goodness. May the eternal message of Hanukkah inspire us all
to shine our light, and rest assured that we will soon be victorious.
Rabbi Pinchas Taylor is a bestselling author and lecturer and director of American Faith Coalition.
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