Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 17 December 2003 — Page 3

December 17. 2003 IN 3

Candles light a festival of family By DR. BARRY DOV SCHWARTZ

Hanukkah and vegetarianism

By RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ, Ph.D.

The small candle flickers madly, feebly trying to spread and prolong its light. All eyes are fixed upon these frail flames, searching for a fresh vision, a new spark of deeper meaning. "Mai Hanukkah?" What are these days really all about? Other festivals are doubly blessed with pageantry. Other holidays are wonderfully packed with full-time holiness and celebration. Not so Hanukkah. Eight days - a long stretch of opportunities for ceremony. Yet the chances are squandered. Each day seems to merit mere shreds, scraps of remembrance. A match strikes a box and a candle is quickly lit. The family hastily gathers for blessings and rousing song. With more haste the group abruptly disperses, each to his own pursuits. The lights linger on - lonely - but not for long. So ends the daily ritual. I stare, I search, I wonder. Where in these tiny candles shall 1 find a lesson for all time? My wandering eyes stray from the luminous menorah and focus upon the close-knit group which gathers around it. The family clusters together, attracted magnetically both by love and the Hanukkah lights. "Ner echod ish U'veito - one candle for a man and his family." That is quite sufficient. All

else is embellishment. Interestingly, this law, even this terminology, is not found elsewhere. Convenience, closeness, and camaraderie bring relatives together for Sukkot and Pesach. Here the law, not the circumstance, makes necessary the kindling together with kin. Why? I have a feeling here - a subtle sense of touching a truth. The people of Israel have long been chastised and condemned for their clannishness. Jewish family life confounds the evil and bitter hearts of our foes. So we take no insult from the charge: it is this closeness we exalt. Mishpacha is one of the warmest words in a vocabulary which overflows with warm phrases. Moderns have little use for cumbersome family ties in their lifestyle. Relationships are preferably casual and free of responsibility. The bounties of the fascinating future await only those who will courageously jump forward and free themselves of the past. The new world beckons only to those who have forsaken the old. Such was the philosophy of the Greeks who preached for a departure from tradition. Reality demands a fresh start, a breakaway. Only in the myths could parental

Many connections can be made between vegetarianism and the Jewish festival of Hanukkah: 1. According to the Book of Maccabees, some Maccabees lived on plant foods since they were unable to get kosher meat when they hid in the mountains to avoid capture. 2. The foods associated with Hanukkah, latkcs (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts) are vegetarian foods, and the oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the oil used in the lighting of the menorah in the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean victory. 3. Hanukkah represents the triumph of non-conformity. The Maccabees stuck to their inner beliefs, rather than conforming to external pressure. They were willing to say: This I believe.

pride still be tolerated and protected. Notice how Hanukkah speaks of Matityahu and his sons. Again and again we find Hanukkah closely tied to family. This is the festival of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters.

this 1 stand for, this I am willing to struggle for. Today, vegetarians represent non-conformity. At a time when most people in the wealthier countries think of animal products as the main part of their meals, when the number of McDonald's and similar fast food establishments are growing rapidly, when almost all celebrations involve an abundance of animal products, vegetarians are resisting and insisting that there is a better, healthier, more humane diet. 4. Hanukkah represents the victory of the few, who practiced God's teachings, over the many, who acted according to the values of the surrounding society. Today vegetarians are a very small minority in most countries, but they believe that, consistent with God's original diet (Genesis 1:29) and religious mandates to pre-

And so we begin to understand why the family clusters around one candle for one house. Hanukkah commemorates not only the miracle of the oil, but also the marvel of the family which lights it. Hanukkah is the holiday of the family reborn.

serve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, preserve natural resources, and share with hungry people, vegetarianism is the dietary approach most consistent with Jewish values. 5. Hanukkah commemorates the miracle of the oil that was enough for only one day, but miraculously lasted for eight days. A switch to vegetarianism on the part of the world's people could help cause an even greater miracle: the end of the scandal of world hunger which results in the death of an estimated 20 million people annually, while over a third of the world's grain is fed to animals destined for slaughter. It is interesting that the ratio of eight days that the oil burned compared to the one day of burning capacity that the oil had is the same ratio (8 to 1) that is often given for the pounds of grain that are necessary to add a pound to a cow in a feed lot. (A ratio of 16 to 1 is often given for the amount of edible beef produced.) 6. The miracle of the oil brings the use of fuel and other resources into focus, and vegetarian diets make resources go much further, since far less water, fuel, land, pesticides, fertilizer, and other agricultural resources Continued on page 11

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