How Do the Hellenizers Celebrate Chanukah? A Point to Ponder

Jews of all stripes celebrate the holiday of Chanukah. It has become a kind of national holiday. Both religious and secular people celebrate and light candles, eat doughnuts... Even my atheist friend told me he lights a menorah at home with his family.

I said to him: "You, who deny the Torah and scorn the mitzvot! Who claim that the miracle of the oil is a big myth! Living in complete contradiction to everything the holiday represents; do you even know what you are celebrating? Apparently not, because if you did, you wouldn't celebrate this holiday!". Of course, he didn’t understand the connection between the things. Let me explain.

The war between the Greeks and the Jews was not an ordinary war. The Greeks did not want to kill the Jewish people physically, but they simply wanted to influence their culture. It pained the Greeks to see a people that wasn’t influenced by their culture and clung to their ancient traditions. They tried to convert the Jews from their religion and beliefs (not keeping Shabbat and such), thus placing the Torah in jeopardy, Heaven forbid!

In response, a group of Jews faithful to observing the Torah and mitzvot rose up, risking their lives to fight against Greece - the great empire. They knew from the outset that according to any logical forecast, their chances of success were close to zero. Yet still, their goal was to fight. Not to surrender to any attempt to blur our Jewish identity, but to continue to proudly carry the banner of our ancient Jewish heritage.

And because their goal was sacred, Hashem prospered them. The few and the weak defeated the many and the strong. It was an enormous miracle. The great miracle of Chanukah (beyond the miracle of the oil) is the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks - those who sought to blur our Jewish identity!

And I wonder why atheists who celebrate Chanukah celebrate a holiday that symbolizes the exact opposite of their way of life... The Greeks wanted the Jewish people not to keep Torah and mitzvot. No Shabbat, no family purity... And this is how atheists behave today, trying to trample all the principles for which our ancestors sacrificed their lives. So, what are you celebrating? You live in complete contradiction to everything the holiday represents!

How have we reached a situation where they willingly become Hellenizers - approving public transport on Shabbat, pride parades, assimilation? They celebrate the Maccabees' victory with pride but trample all the values our ancestors believed in.

If they think Greek culture is superior to keeping Shabbat and family purity, then what are they even lighting Chanukah candles for?

Therefore, it is important for all of us to know what really happened, what we are truly celebrating during Chanukah, and what inner essence we need to accept and learn from these holy days...