When the rabbis of old were codifying laws for Hanukkah, they declared many rules about how and when to light our menorahs. They should be lit once it was dark – so people could see the light. They should be lit during the hours that people would be walking through the streets, returning home from work. And finally, they should be lit such that others can see them: just outside a front door, or in a window so they’re in full view. Some of you may have seen that during Hanukkah in Israel, many people light menorahs in little glass boxes outside their homes – it’s beautiful.
The rabbis taught that all of this is for a concept called pirsumei nisa – publicizing the miracle of Hanukkah. They wanted our lighting of the Hanukkah menorah to be bold; for others to see the lights and not have them only shed light inside our homes. Pirsumei nisa is a phrase that’s meant to inspire people to be proud of their connection to Judaism and to not be shy about displaying their observance, whatever it looks like.
I think this concept feels particularly compelling today – perhaps even challenging – in a world with increasing and seemingly raging anti-Semitism. It can be so hard to publicize our Judaism, to wear it proudly on our sleeve, when there is so much hateful rhetoric directed towards Jews. When we are denigrated and put down, isn’t it better, certainly easier, to just keep our Jewish identities a little more muted? I think this is the spiritual challenge with which Hanukkah calls us to reckon.
Anti-Semitism wasn’t foreign to the Maccabees (is it ever?). And yet, what they fought for was precisely the ability to proudly practice their Judaism. They fought to be able to celebrate who they were as Jews without being demeaned and ridiculed. And so this coming week, as we celebrate the military victory that the Maccabees won so long ago, I think we can take a page from their play book.
What can it mean for us to publicize our Judaism, on Hanukkah but also at other times of the year? What can it look like for each of us, in our places of work or in college classes, to be out and proud about our Judaism, to not let others affect our sense of self as a Jew? As we light the first candle Sunday night, I hope each of us is able to find some way to proudly display our Judaism. I hope that each of us is able to feel that pride on the inside, always.
