As the story goes, Antiochus IV Epiphanes expanded into the land of Judea, which resulted in a divide between the Jews. On the one hand, you had the assimilated Hellenistic Jews, and on the other, you have what would become the zealously religious Maccabeans. Cultural oppression ensued. Jewish practices such as Torah study and circumcision were outlawed. Antiochus even went as far as sacrificing a pig on the altar in the Temple! Given the political climate, Judaism was at stake. Rather than be obedient to the authorities, the Maccabees decided to revolt against the Greek establishment. After much fighting, the Greeks were overthrown and sovereignty was returned to the Israelites.
I find it ironic that a celebration of the victory of the Religious Right is the most favorite holiday of secular Jews that mostly lean to the Left, but I'll leave that one alone....at least for now. The point I want to bring up is that the individual was meant to practice their religion, and practice it freely. The ability to pursue under one's own conscience while not harming others is essential to freedom and finding meaning in life.
Under normal circumstances, Jewish law dictates דינא דמלכותא דינא, or that "the law of the land is the law." However, Judaism takes exception to that when Jewish practice is at stake, much like with the Maccabees. Just to elucidate a bit further, something being legal does not make it morally right. Events such as the Holocaust and the Civil Rights movement remind us that there is certainly a distinction between the two.
I'm not all too worried about this happening in America. Historically speaking, freedom of religion in America has been pretty solid. Thank you, First Amendment of the Constitution! From a Jewish perspective, we have never enjoyed such freedom in the Diaspora. The ultimate failure of San Francisco's recent attempt to ban circumcision exemplifies how much we don't have to worry about an attack on religious freedom (e.g., practicing Judaism) in America, especially to a point where we would need to rebel against our government.
That is certainly a blessing I take into consideration this Chanukah: to live in a country in which I can freely observe my Judaism. Even though we are not in any danger of losing such freedom anytime soon, Jews should nevertheless be ever vigilant to make sure that what the Maccabees endured is not a reality in our time, but merely a distant memory.
חג שמח!
The threats that Jews face today are more likely assimilation and intermarriage, not active persecution. I'm sure you know that the Maccabees were opposed not only by the Greco-Roman rulers of Judaea, but by the Hellenized Jews within their own ranks. That being said, I think intermarriage and secularization, while serious problems, are less of a problem than they are made out to be.
ReplyDeleteWhat I forsee is a decline in the overall numbers of Jews, but a rise in religious observance among those remaining. Just like in every other era in history, Jews who want to assimilate into the dominant culture or intermarry will do it (although nowadays, religious conversion isn't necessary to accomplish this). And just like every other era in history, there continue to be Jews who keep their religion, have large numbers of children, and would never intermarry with or even date a non-Jew.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Although, for Christians and others who want to actually BECOME Jews, and enter into kol-bays-yisrael instead of leaving it, I'd welcome a clarification of the conversion process and a general agreement about conversion standards amongst Jewish leaders. All this kerfuffle about "proper" conversions and "whom is a Jew" is really unnecessary, political and annoyingly distracting. By no means am I suggesting that Judaism should lower its standards, nor that there should be a drive-thru conversion window at the local shul. Just sort of... "A Guide to Conversion for the Perplexed." The whole business about three refusals strikes me as unnecessary, too. If someone wants to do it, they want to, and they should be warned, but if they live in the United States of America, their rights will be protected no matter what religion they choose to practice, B*H.
Also, conversion to Judaism could be the answer to growing intermarriage. In fact, I'd love to read more books about conversion to Judaism that DON'T involve the non-Jewish spouse of a Jew. The majority of such books do! No offense to them, they just don't apply very well to my situation.