All too often around Chanukah we look around at the celebrations going on in our cultural surroundings - music, lights, decorations and greetings - and we do something a bit strange. Instead of appreciating the seasonal cheer on its own merits - deeply connected to the positive expression of the religious celebrations of the dominant culture here and in many parts of the world - we often shoehorn our own celebrations into this milieu.

Now, let's extend the metaphor a bit. Cinderella’s slipper, in the story, was absolutely beautiful - crystal or glass, remarkable, indeed. But it only fit one foot. The crowds in the story didn’t celebrate the Prince finding Cinderella because the shoe fit THEM, they celebrated because the idea was romantic and it fit HER.

Yes, it gets dark and cold early this time of year, and lighting up our surroundings is a creditable, worthy thing to do. Yes, it is also important for us and our neighbors to objectively bring light into the world through good deeds and civic responsibility. And, yes, the idea of gift giving, celebrating with food, and highlighting songs or good cheer is important to us all.

All that said, Chanukah is…different. With this holiday, we celebrate what sets us apart in all the best ways, what is distinctive, what is miraculous, and what we have come to understand is the secret of our resilience.

As the ‘Al Hanisim’ - About The Miracles - song tells us, the Almighty delivered the strong (Seleucid Greeks) into the hands of the weak (Hasmonean Jews); the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the many into the hands of the few. He gave us a miraculous victory, which retained our independent Jewish commonwealth in our ancestral homeland for decades longer, until the Romans made their way into our land.

The Talmud, interestingly as distinct from the Al Hanisim, highlights the miracle of the small cruse of pure olive oil that lasted the liberators of the Temple for eight days instead of one, until a new supply of pure oil for the Menorah could be made and sanctified.

And in more modern times, the ongoing miracle of the return of the Jewish people to the hills of Judea, the streets of Jerusalem, the shores of the Great Sea and the fields of the Galilee is perhaps the objectively current reason why this holiday is so beloved by us, inheritors of Jewish tradition, responsibility, and identity.

I wish all people of good will good cheer during this holiday season. I am no curmudgeon (look it up, sort of like a grinch) with a ‘bah humbug’ attitude to the holiday celebrations going on around us (True fact, I’m a sucker for a good carol. Sting’s version of ‘The Angel Gabriel’ is truly beautiful).

I always remember, though, that we celebrate Chanukahat this time and very much in public because we are Jews, part of a people proud of our heritage, thankful for the Almighty’s redemptive role, determined to celebrate our Jewish identity and defend it no matter who rises up to threaten us, or where they stand.

Have a Happy Chanukah!