Chanukah and Freedom
Dr. Elior Kinarthy
Psychologist
From the Exodus in Egypt to Chanukah in Jerusalem, we celebrate the freedom of our people to be themselves. Chanukah is a story about the Maccabees and a military victory against the ancient Greeks. The initials “Maccabee" in Hebrew is an acronym for a prayer in Judaism. “Mi Chamocha ba Elim Adonai” which roughly translates as who is like you G-d among all the others. In modern times, the Six Day War in 1967 gave Jews the freedom to worship in Jerusalem at the Western Wall, that was a miracle too!
When the Hebrews were released from slavery in ancient Egypt, they did not know that freedom requires hard work and has many responsibilities. The Israelites were like children rebelling from authority when they were caught worshipping the golden calf and this was an example of their rebellion against the rule of Moses. What is freedom? Freedom is a gift from G-d telling you that you were born to be yourself and enjoy all the benefits of this world such as good health, food, relationships, career and so forth. The study of people and psychology shows that freedom without responsibility is not true freedom. We have the freedom to worship as we chose in Canada, but true freedom needs everyone to help maintain it.
Freedom is an awesome responsibility because it can easily be lost when you are surrounded by systems that do not govern by consent. A document that describes a true system of freedom such as a declaration of rights, will have written in it “with the consent of the governed”. If you have that consent, then your power becomes relative, your freedom is relative and everyone is happy!
In your present life you have many freedoms, including the freedom to divorce a partner, move to another country, retire early, etc. Every choice is an opportunity to create something better, find a new love, discover a new culture, or find a more lucrative profession. We have the freedom to become educated and attend public or private institutions, colleges or universities, trade schools or apprenticeships. Children under the age of 7 cannot understand the concepts of behaviour and consequences. It is therefore the job of parents to educate themselves as to the best methods of discipline and empowerment. This is an awesome responsibility.
Lets hope that soon, people everywhere will have the ability to live and worship together as we celebrate the ancient miracle of Chanukah, the holiday of freedom and light.