The battle of Chanukah wages on. Throughout history, Jews have had to endure constant persecution at the hands of despicable enemies. The attacks of the Yevanim (Greeks) on the Jewish people were no exception. The Yevanim are known for their conquests of the land of Israel and its greatest cities, in addition to their forceful assimilation of the Jewish people. It would therefore seem understandable that the Jews rebelled, as their very existence was in danger… but it wasn’t.
The attacks of the Yevanim upon the Jews can actually be distinguished from those of other enemies. Heinous villains such as Haman and the Nazis would not stop short of the absolute destruction of all Jews. On the other hand, the Yevanim resorted to destroying the Jewish religion as opposed to dealing them physical damage. In a time when the Yevanim were a prominent power, a tiny resistance of some Jews would seem to be a suicide mission. Why, then, would anyone attempt such a revolt, choosing certain death over life?
Enemies of Benei Yisrael have rationalized our extermination for various reasons. The Jews run the world. They are spies. The list goes on and on. Whatever the excuse, there seems to be a common denominator: the Jews are different. The Megillat Esther supports this claim in the sense that it quotes Haman directly in justifying his hatred for the Jewish people. “Their practices are different from all others,” he says to Achashverosh in regards to the teachings of the Torah. Like him, the Yevanim also loathed the values of the Torah, though they believed that they could easily sway the Jewish people into abandoning their tenets in exchange for the promise of life.
But the Yevanim failed to account for how the destruction of the values of the Torah equates to the physical destruction of our people. In spite of the backlash we recieve, the teachings that make us “different” are what truly fuel our existence. Jewish society is built upon the positive values of the Torah, such examples being compassion, community, peace, morality, kindness and humility, all of which have led the Jews to be an exceptionally thoughtful, ethical people. The Maccabees understood that the removal of the Torah and its values from Jewish life would lead to the eventual decline of our morality, destroying the very foundation of Am Yisrael.
The principles of Am Yisrael stretch far beyond the Jewish community. Rather, they serve as manifestations of morality and ethics for all. Any power who truly valued such would never attack Am Yisrael. After all, the Nazi party, whose focus was centered anything but morality, had no problem resorting to the mass torture and murder of any not within the superior “Aryan” race. Even now, numerous Middle Eastern authorities place religious extremism above the rights of their own citizens, and supposed “peacekeepers” claiming to support our cause are blinded by their own prejudices, further delaying their efforts to save our hostages.
Wars between the Jews and their enemies have always revolved around the idea of “good versus evil.” The current war is no different. Israel, which is meant to be a beacon of light for the Jewish people that radiates Torah values, is being attacked for the same “differences” the Yevanim detested. When “good” is being mercilessly attacked, we cannot remain neutral. We must do whatever we can to support the state of Israel, ensuring the survival of the Jewish nation and its positive values.
