Chanukah

I have been really getting into Chanukah music the past couple of weeks since we were given a disc in conversion class as a gift.  Like Christmas music some of it is really just fun to listen to and sing along with but there are some songs that just really hit home and one such song is "Light One Candle".  I could just listen to it over and over again and much to my partners dismay I do!

Light one candle for the Maccabee children
With thanks their light didn't die;
Light one candle for the pain they endured
When their right to exist was denied;
Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand;
And light one candle for the wisdom to know
That the peacemaker's time is at hand!

Chorus:
Don't let the light go out,
It's lasted for so many years!
Don't let the light go out!
Let it shine through our love and our tears!

Light one candle for the strength that we need
To never become our own foe;
Light one candle for those who are suff'ring
A pain they learned so long ago;
Light one candle for all we believe in,
That anger not tear us apart;
And light one candle to bind us together
With peace as the song in our heart!

(chorus)

What is the memory that's valued so highly
That we keep it alive in that flame?
What's the commitment to those who have died?
We cry out "they've not died in vain,"
We have come this far, always believing
That justice will somehow prevail;
This is the burden, This is the promise,
This is why we will not fail!

(chorus)

Don't let the light go out!
Don't let the light go out!
Don't let the light go out!
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/peter+paul+mary

Here are the lyrics and I hope I don't get into trouble for it!  But as with all things Jewish that I have learned so far there are so many wonderful lessons to be learned by the lyrics.  On the surface you can just enjoy the song and I must admit a couple of years ago  I was not a fan but after starting this process and REALLY listening to them it has become one of my favorite Chanukah songs.  It tells of the story of how the Jews fought the Syrian Greeks.  It talks about the the suffering and the sacrifices that the Jews had to make to stand up for what was right and good.  Against all odds the Maccabees  drove the Syrian Greeks out of Israel and after rededicating the temple had a celebration of their victory and winning their right to carry on.


The song is here to celebrate that victory and remind us of that fight but I also think that there is something to be said in this song for our future and the future of humanity.  We as a people and as a person have good things happen and bad things happen and we need to remember that through all of that to stand up for what is right and to fight any injustice we see.  It is not just something to do around Chanukah but something we need to do every day of our lives.  


Fight for our rights, fight for our peoples rights, fight for others who are suffering as we did during the war with the Syrian Greeks and to do it while remembering the past but also know we are changing the future for the better.  


From a spectator to now a person living it Chanukah is a very important holiday for many reasons and it is not the "Jewish Christmas"....it is so much more than that.  It is a celebration, it is time for family and friends, it is a time for latkes and dreidles,  it is a time to remember and to forge ahead and through joy and tears to make sure to fight the good battle for what is right and just and help the underdog!  I believe we owe this to the Maccabees because that is what they did for us.


I truly hope that even one person who reads this will take the spirit of Chanukah with them!  A very wise woman told me being Jewish is always about remembering the past but to not forget about the here and now and the future and as I continue on this journey I am really starting to see how that really does play out in Judaism.  Happy Chanukah to everyone and remember "don't let the light go out, its lasted for so many years.  Don't let the light go out, let it shine through our love and our tears."