One question that I particularly want to ponder today, as some of our cultural outlets seem to go out of their way to diminish the significance of both tradition and prayer. In the story of Chanukah, throughout history, and in our present day, who are the heroes? The warriors who fight to preserve our way of life, or the spiritual and cultural leaders who keep it alive and undiluted after the battle is won? And in the final analysis, in the judgment of history, must there be a dichotomy between the two? Feel free to comment below.
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Come gather my
friends on this Holiday night
Consider the story of
Chanukah lights
Ages ago, the Hebrews
took fight
To an arrogant ruler
who denied them their rights
The warriors battled
and won their glory
But that wasn’t all;
just the start of our story
Their Temple, alas,
had been damaged and looted
With idols inside,
its spirit polluted
The Jews went to
work. They cleaned and they polished
Swept up the debris
of the idols demolished
But as they looked
around, the Jews realized
They still were not done,
for a Temple needs light
While oil for lamps
wasn’t hard to procure
The Priests had
insisted it had to be pure
They searched for a
while, and soon with delight
Have found the oil,
enough for one night
The rest of the story
you know by now
The Priests lit the
lamp with the oil they found
And then, in defiance
of doubt and hate
A day’s worth of oil
burned brightly for eight
The story is old, but
the spirit remains
I hope it helps you
in darkest of days
When the wolf’s at
the door and your dreams fall apart
Remember this lesson
and take it to heart
Just one simple
thought from this Holiday night:
When you stand on
conviction, you will always find light.
Dedicated to all the
folks out there fighting the good fight.
You know who you are.
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