On the night of the 25th of Kislev (corresponding this year to Sunday night, Dec. 18) and for another seven nights following, Jewish communities around the world will celebrate Hanukkah, the holiday that commemorates the victory of a small group of Jews in the war for their right to maintain a Jewish way of life. That right was in jeopardy following decrees enacted by the Syrian-Greeks in 167 BC.
What led the Hasmonean family of priests to lead the war against the Syrian-Greek rulers of the Land of Israel? Over a long period, the influence of the Hellenists (who embraced Greek culture and values) steadily increased among the Jews. Corrupt priests tried through bribery, violence and political intrigue to gain control over the Temple in Jerusalem, viewing it as merely a center of political power, money and fame. Under the rule of Antiochus IV a series of decrees were imposed, aimed at suppressing Jewish religious life, including a ban on Torah study, circumcision and kosher eating. As resistance grew and conflict intensified, Antiochus IV massacred Jews, imposed heavy taxes on them, confiscated parts of their land and caused large numbers of Jewish inhabitants to leave their homes. The Hasmoneans, a courageous family of priests, led an army of Jews (the Maccabees) in an uprising against the Syrian-Greeks, their oppressive decrees, and their cultural influence. Vastly outnumbered, they fought a long war and eventually emerged victorious, succeeding along the way in rededicating the Temple which had been defiled. The historical account is recorded in the Book of Maccabees.
The Maccabees wanted to change history, and they managed to. On Hannukah, Jewish children throughout the world will sing and praise them - more than 2000 years after their deaths. However, the main question is - what does history remember about them? Are they depicted as a group of talented and fearless super-warriors who were victorious thanks to their courageous and sophisticated military tactics? As we shall see, the central figures who shaped the Jewish national narrative, the Sages, viewed the Maccabee victory in a different light.
Following the Maccabee victory, the Jews enjoyed two centuries of freedom and independence. But after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, in the year 70 A.D., Jewish life underwent a massive revolution. The Jews were scattered in exile, and no longer had a central national religious focus. In the absence of the Temple and its rituals, Jews came to be centered around the Torah texts and teachings interpretation. In place of the elevated religious status and teaching function of the priests, and supreme administrative and judicial authority of the Great Sanhedrin (Assembly of Elders), it was the scholars - the Sages of the Mishna and Talmud, and the rabbis of the generations that followed – who stepped into the leadership void. This is arguably the most significant revolution that took place in Jewish history.
Hanukkah is not a biblical holiday; the events it commemorates took place long after the biblical period. The Sages declared it a national holiday. In the special prayer they instituted to be recited on Hannukah, the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian-Greeks is described as God’s deliverance of "... the strong into the hands of the weak; the many into the hands of the few; the impure into the hands of the pure; and the wicked into the hands of the righteous..." The narrative that the Sages shaped was far from the classic depiction of the nation and its soldiers as powerful and heroic. Instead, the Sages emphasize: we were weaker and more vulnerable. But our fight was just and correct, and therefore we won.
This ingenious design of the national narrative allows us to peek into the great workroom of narrative design. The "hand made" holiday of Hannukah offers an excellent opportunity for educators to think about the power of national and individual narratives.
The field of narrative design has received much attention in recent years, not only in the areas of psychology and education research but even in areas related to technology and high-tech design. For example, the popular computer game "Second Life" allows a player to design a digital character (avatar) via which they he/she can live a parallel digital life. The player identifies with the avatar and through this may overcome personal challenges that are taking place in real life, such as claustrophobia, fear of bullying, and more.
Why is it that focusing on narrative can be so effective? Studies have indicated that personal and collective narratives provide a system for organizing significant events in our lives. It organizes our reality and shapes the way we understand ourselves. Research in the field of educational psychology considers "narrative design" an essential tool. Ben Yehoshua (2001) demonstrates how we can use narratives that other people tell us in order to understand their inner world, identity, and how the narrators understand themselves. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) see narrative as a way of thinking about the individual's experience within the world. They argue that people connect the events of their lives with larger narratives of community and collective history to which they belong. Their study points to the powerful connection between the individual and the collective story. Connecting the two narratives can increase the individual's sense of meaning. Leading our students to experience purpose, belonging, success, and fulfillment is closely related to our – and their - ability to tell a story that is broader than the personal one.
In a special prayer recited on the festivals we find the Sages' masterwork of collective narrative design. The Sages took the trauma of the destruction of the Temple and reframed it in national history inter alia as an educational experience offering the potential for growth and empowerment. The prayer states that "It is because of our sins that we went into exile...". Through this and many other rabbinic texts, the Sages fostered the common notion that the Temple was destroyed not because of the enormous power of the Roman Empire but rather because of improper behavior on the part of the Jews, especially disunity, animosity and lack of respect for each other. Taking a sober look at what had happened, the Sages didn't go for the easy propaganda of "We are the victims of Roman conquest and destruction". Instead, they forced people to ask themselves: what was my part in this national catastrophe?
The Sages, as educational leaders, shaped the historical consciousness of Jews by transmitting a collective narrative which survived the many centuries of exile. Their most important Hanukkah message was: Empires appear and vanish, but God helped those who were just and pure - even though they were fewer and weaker - to win.
Hanukkah is an opportunity to learn from the Sages how to establish a strong, empowering, and moral narrative for our students and communities in times of crisis and challenge. We wish our students, alumni and friends a happy Hanukkah!
Bibliography
Clandinin, D.J & Connelly, F.M. (2000). Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
צבר-בן יהושוע, נ' (2001). מחקר פרשני: מגן עדן למציאות דרך משבר – מורים טירונים כמהגרים. בתוך: נ' צבר בן יהושע , מסורות וזרמים במחקר איכותי. דביר.
In the photo: Titus' triumphal procession, depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome; the Romans' attempt to design a collective narrative. Copyright: derivative work: Steerpike (talk)Arc_de_Triumph_copy.jpg: user: בית השלום, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.